Get Your Heart On
by AllThingsAnime123
Summary: I'm a major Simple Plan fan so when I heard their new album, I just had to write a fanfic dedicated to my latest obsessions; Sabriel and Destiel xD I own neither the lyrics at the start of each chapter, nor the characters involved. No flames, please! x
1. Loser Of The Year

_I can try real hard, I can try to pretend_

_That all these dreams make any sense without you_

_But that just ain't true_

_I thought all these things would make me forget about you and me_

_But you're stuck in my head_

_You make me want to shut it all down, blow it all away_

'_Cos I'm nothing if I don't have you_

'_Cos it's all so clear that I need you here_

_Yeah, it's all so clear that I need you here_

_I'm the loser of the year_

It was pathetic.

He was a damn _archangel _and Trickster, for Dad's sake. People used to worship him, fear the wrath and suffering he could bestow upon them. He was powerful, he was intimidating and he was able to create chaos with a simple snap of his fingers. These were simple facts that could not be denied by anyone. Unless they wanted to be dropped into a wormhole, that was.

But it was also a fact that he was in love.

Gabriel, archangel-come-pagan-god, was in love. With a human being. Sam Winchester, to be precise.

His first reaction to feeling those emotions had been the typical, knee-jerk one; flat out denial. He refused to acknowledge the way his heart _always_ beat a little faster around the hunter, chose to ignore the lurching in the pit of his stomach every time the man looked at him, tried to block out how almost every conscious thought he had somehow strayed to the younger Winchester. It had all started a short time after he had first met the infamous Winchester brothers. He had found them unique from other hunters, more.. Well, human. And that, in Gabriel's opinion, made them interesting.

And so, he began to keep tabs on their movements. He watched them with mild interest while they were hunting, observed their amusing banter and arguments with typical Trickster glee. But over the long time he spent observing them, Gabriel found himself become increasingly twitchy every time Sam Winchester found himself in danger. He could clearly remember watching as the obsessive hunter, Gordon Walker, was pressing Sam against the warehouse wall, his fangs inching closer towards Sam's exposed flesh. Gabriel had just been on the brink of snapping himself into the building and blasting the bastard into oblivion when Sam had grabbed the razor wire and proceeded to slice Gordon's head off.

The penny finally dropped for Gabriel when the Winchesters caught up with him at the Mystery Spot. Being pressed against that fence by an angry Sam provoked a new rush of emotion inside Gabriel which only intensified the longer he stared at Sam's fuming face. Although he managed to keep his cool in front of the brothers, it was only when he had snapped himself away from the scene that he realised just how much trouble he was in. His heart was hammering against his ribs, no doubt turning them into a fine dust by now, his stomach was performing flips and he could still feel the pressure of Sam's hands on his shoulders.

After that, it became increasingly difficult for Gabriel to deny his feelings. His encounter with the brothers in TV Land only helped to cement the realisation that he had fallen and fallen _hard_. And of course, shortly afterwards, he sacrificed himself for the sake of the brothers. Well, that was the excuse he would later give when questioned about his actions upon being brought back to life. The brothers could stop the Apocalypse; it only made sense for him to allow them to escape. And yet deep down, Gabriel knew it was because of only _one_ of the brothers that he stood up to Lucifer alone.

He growled in frustration, collapsing in a heap onto the motel bed, looking every inch the hormonal teenager he felt like. He wanted nothing more than to throw caution to the wind, hell, give caution the finger, zap himself into Sam's room and do things to the man that were borderline illegal. But there were two obvious flaws in this plan. The first, and most painful, was that there was no way the younger Winchester would allow Gabriel to so much as _touch_ him. The archangel wasn't exactly in the Winchester's good books, even with the immense sacrifices he had made for the damn Apocalypse that they had kick-started. They just didn't seem to be able to look past the incidents at the Mystery Spot, especially. Gabriel rolled his eyes on the bed. While it had been fun to watch the elder Winchester die in the most inventive ways Gabriel could invent, his main goal had been to convey a very simple message. And yet that wasn't what they remembered. Instead it was the dog attack, or the car, or the tacos, which were frankly _hilarious_.

The second was that, for the first time in his life, Gabriel was.. Well, he was scared. He was an archangel. He didn't know what vulnerability felt like, knowing that he was always more powerful than whatever it was he was facing. And yet, the prospect of facing Sam Winchester with his emotions clearly shining through his cocky attitude only to be turned away made Gabriel feel strangely weak and lost. He honestly didn't know how he would cope when the younger Winchester inevitably turned him down, so it would be more beneficial for Gabriel's sake that he remain as silent and illusive as ever.

That didn't stop his bottled up emotions from trying to escape at every opportunity, though. More than once, he had had to fight with himself to stop him from appearing to Sam after Dean was dragged to Hell, just to offer a shoulder to cry on. It had caused him great emotional pain when Sam became addicted to drinking the demon, Ruby's, blood. He had lost count of the number of times he had mentally blown her to pieces.

Gabriel couldn't believe how far from his original glory he had fallen. He couldn't believe that, just like a teenage girl, he found himself mentally freezing up whenever he so much as _spoke_ to Sam, or that he had become too scared to go and visit the man. He couldn't believe that he was now almost like a stalker, sitting in a motel nearby to the one the Winchester brothers currently inhabited.

An archangel following a human around like a lost little puppy.

It was _pathetic_.

Gabriel could have anything that took his fancy at any moment with just a simple snap of his fingers. Anything, that was, apart from the one thing he truly craved. He had tried to snap a replica of Sam into existence, but it felt.. _Wrong_. It didn't have Sam's sarcastic humour. It couldn't pull off as many different variances of the bitchface. It couldn't smile like Sam could. Its laugh and voice may have _sounded_ like Sam's did but they, like everything else about it, just felt wrong to Gabriel. Sam Winchester was unique. He was special.

He couldn't just be recreated with a snap. Anything other than the real thing was an insult, an abomination.

Gabriel groaned, grabbed a pillow from above his head and jammed it over his face.

It was a cruel twist of irony.

A being that could create whatever he wanted couldn't have what he desired.

A short distance away from the motel Gabriel currently sulked in, his younger brother was perched delicately on one of the beds, watching as Dean Winchester cleaned one of their many guns, its parts littered on the bed beside him. His younger brother, Sam, was sat at the table with his laptop humming quietly, his fingers drumming on the keys. Castiel watched intently as Dean picked up another part of the weapon at random and cleaned it with immense care.

As an angel of the Lord, Castiel had little or no concept of human emotion. However, he was certain that his overexposure in the presence of humans was beginning to affect him. He was starting to feel shades of emotion; not as strongly as Sam or Dean did, but there were feelings within his vessel where there had been nothing beforehand.

Dean Winchester was to blame for the biggest shift in Castiel's perception of emotions. He and the human shared a special bond, unique to anyone else on the planet. He had been the one to haul Dean's soul back from Hell and fixed the pieces of Dean's shattered mind. He had rebelled against Heaven for the human being. They had fought back against Hell side by side. He felt closer to Dean than he had done to anyone for a long time.

He had, of course, heard of the emotion called 'love'. He knew that he loved all of his Father's precious creations, but this only helped him to realise that what he felt for Dean Winchester was stronger than that. It was strange standing in the human's presence. He just seemed to relax Castiel, as if there were something soothing about his being for the angel. It was bizarre for him when he discovered that he did not feel the same about Dean's brother. It was only the rough, crude and tactless hunter that made him feel that way.

Castiel had no idea of how to go about dealing with it. All he knew was that soon after discovering this particular revelation about his own feelings, he had become unable to get the hunter from his mind. He would hold eye contact with Dean for long periods of time, not wanting to be the first to look away, because for a reason he couldn't explain, it caused him a slight physical pain inside whenever he did. He would linger for longer than he should have done when watching Dean sleep, just because he liked seeing the peaceful, relaxed expression on his face as he dreamed.

Whenever Dean flirted with or became the sole attention of women at any random bar, Castiel would feel a rush of white hot anger raging inside him, and he would want nothing more than to hurt whoever it was draping themselves over the human. He never acted on these instincts, of course, but what alarmed him was how badly he _wanted_ to. Often, he would keep his fury hidden, but he became distant and was more liable to snap at anyone who spoke to him. More often than not, he would simply stride from the bar, leaving Dean in the company of whatever barmaid or waitress had gravitated to him that evening, but he would not return to the motel. He tended to hang around the bar like an obedient dog awaiting its master's return, and when Dean staggered drunkenly from the building, he would be by his side in an instant, helping him to stagger back to the Impala.

Castiel frowned slightly, but allowed himself to make no noises. If he had allowed the weary sigh to escape from his lips, he knew that both Winchesters would question him about it relentlessly. He honestly didn't feel like explaining his bizarre rush of new emotions concerning Dean, particularly to the hunter himself. He would continue to do as he had always done; keep silent.

Back in the other motel, Gabriel sighed dejectedly as he crawled further up onto his bed. He snapped his fingers once and instantly an imperfect clone of Sam appeared before him. Without saying a word and avoiding eye contact, he snuggled up close to the imitation, frowning miserably when the powerful arms curled around his small body. He wasn't sure if it had been deliberate on his part or just another horrible twist in fate, but the archangel seemed to slot into Sam's side almost perfectly. Ignoring this added insult to injury, he closed his eyes and allowed his body to relax.

Angels weren't supposed to sleep, but Gabriel enjoyed the dreams sleeping brought. In his dreams, the clone was the real thing. So he snuggled closer to the duplicate, straining his imagination to breaking point and drifted off into a dream-filled sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>This is my first Supernatural fanfiction. I've only got up to mid-season three, so please forgive any errors.. I just got so hooked on this show and these two pairings, I couldn't resist making a fanfic xD So be nice and no flames, please? x<strong>


	2. Anywhere Else But Here

_And I wish that I could_

_Snap my fingers, make myself disappear_

_Snap my fingers, get myself out of here_

'_Cos I'd rather be anywhere else, anywhere else_

_Anywhere else but here_

Gabriel awoke several hours later, his entire body stiff. He blinked sleepily, reminding himself once more that the elation he had felt only moments ago had been the cause of his own imagination and nothing more. He sat up groggily, detaching himself from the warmth of the Sam clone that still lay sleeping beside him. Not even looking at it, Gabriel clicked his fingers and it vanished without a sound. With another snap of his fingers, his clothes were changed. Stifling a yawn, he got to his feet and stretched, groaning as he forced his muscles to wake up.

Adjusting himself in his vessel more comfortably, Gabriel snapped his fingers once again. A moment later, a bar of chocolate had appeared, nestling in his outstretched palm. He bit a large chunk off the sugary breakfast, chewing it slowly as he considered how he could spend his day. He could go and seek out people who needed to get their just desserts, usually in hideously ironic ways. Or he could mope around his motel room, eating his way through an entire factory supply of sugary goodness, his mind fixed on Sam Winchester.

Gabriel scowled and dropped the chocolate. It vanished before it touched the floor. He refused to sit around a cramped room all day, sulking like some depressed girl, pining after a hopeless dream. But he couldn't very well spend his day going about his usual Trickster business, especially not with the Winchesters and his own little angelic brother in town. His fun would be put to an abrupt end before it even began. The three of them knew how Gabriel liked to do things; they knew the signs of his handiwork. A patronising teenager slow dancing with an alien wasn't exactly subtle, after all. And besides, Castiel would sense his presence if he so much as yawned in the vicinity of the angel.

It was better to do something he would enjoy which was less likely to end up with a wooden stake pointed at his heart.

Though not by much, given Dean's temper.

Making up his mind, Gabriel snapped his fingers.

Sam had only just left the bathroom fully dressed after taking a shower that morning, still towelling his hair dry. He had re-entered the other room to find Dean slouched on the small sofa, his feet propped onto the table that sat in front of it. Castiel was perched in his ever present spot on the edge of Dean's bed, watching the back of the older hunter's head. They had planned to spend the day researching the local town for any signs of peculiar behaviour from the locals because according to Castiel, there were faint demonic presences.

Dean had wanted to ambush the demons before they had a chance to gather up their strength, but he had been overturned by Sam insisting that they had to be certain there were no other, far more evil presences about that just those of simple possession. It had taken the reminder of what had happened back with the unsuspecting witches who had ended up selling their souls to a very powerful demon to convince him. Sam and Dean, ignoring Ruby's warning, had stormed into the house only to come face to face with said demon and have their backsides well and truly kicked. The argument had ended with the usual snaps of 'Bitch' and 'Jerk', before Dean conceded reluctantly.

It was at precisely that moment when all hell broke loose.

The sound of fluttering wings was the only warning they received before Gabriel appeared from nowhere directly in front of the sofa. Yelling a particularly foul swear word, Dean had slipped off the sofa in shock. Sam had started and automatically reached for the Colt which lay on the table beside his laptop, but relaxed when he recognised the being before him. Castiel simply stared at his older brother with a slight head tilt as if he were silently asking him what he was doing in their motel room, and how he had known to find them. Gabriel just grinned down at Dean as the hunter scrambled back to his feet, expression livid.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He snapped furiously.

The grin was replaced by a frown. "That's a bit ungrateful, don't you think Deano? I sacrifice myself for you and your stupid Team Free Will, and you can't even show me the slightest hint of gratitude? Charming."

"'Gratitude'?" Dean echoed in disbelief as if he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. "Have you forgotten just how many times you killed me at the Mystery Spot?"

Gabriel's smirk returned, and he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, hands clutched behind his back, trying his best to look innocent. "About a hundred, wasn't it?"

"It was more than that." Sam snapped icily, not even looking at Gabriel as he crossed the room and settled behind his laptop once more. He had never been able to forgive the archangel for just how many times he had killed his older brother, even if it was to teach him a valuable lesson. It would be a long time before he forgot the way Dean's body had somersaulted through the air after the car had hit him, spilling his precious bodily fluids over the road.

"Awh come on Sammy -"

"Sam." The hunter growled, finally looking up at the archangel. "No-one but Dean calls me Sammy."

Gabriel rolled his eyes but kept the smirk on his face. "Sure thing, Sammy."

Sam twitched, a muscle in his jaw jerking periodically. As he watched, the archangel snapped his fingers and a lollipop appeared in his hand. As he placed the sugary treat into his mouth, Sam turned his attention back to the laptop. He ought to loathe the very ground Gabriel walked on. He should want to take the Colt lying so close by and shoot a bullet through the smirking man's face. If Gabriel had appeared in their motel just after the Mystery Spot, Sam doubted he would have hesitated in killing the archangel. Similarly, if the archangel had chosen to drop in with them out of nowhere after the various incidents in TV Land, Sam would have pressed the trigger on the Colt faster than Gabriel could blink. The humiliating Herpexia advert and Nut Cracker game were more than enough to warrant that.

And yet Sam was unpleasantly surprised when he watched Gabriel's suicide note. Not because of the rather unconventional way he had chosen to inform them of how to stop the Apocalypse, but because it finally hit home for Sam that Gabriel was dead. Really dead. Because of them. The Trickster that had been nothing but a thorn in their sides for so long was dead because of them.

Sam had naturally assumed this news would have elated him. Instead, he found it hard to cope with and.. _Painful_. It had taken him a while to figure it out, but he finally realised with a pang exactly when he had felt similarly to how he had at the time, and that was after Jessica died. Her death had been his fault too. That realisation sparked instant panic in the hunter though. He had been in love with Jess. So why was he feeling what he had when she died following Gabriel's death? Gabriel, the one who had forced him to watch his brother die a hundred times over? Gabriel, who had almost destroyed any chance of him being able to have children? Gabriel, who delighted in their torment and suffering?

For a long time, Sam told himself it was because they were ones who convinced Gabriel to face his family after centuries of hiding himself away. It was guilt that the archangel had died and nothing more. He certainly didn't _care_ that the archangel was dead. But during the time he was alone after escaping from Hell, and he would _never_ tell Dean about it, he hadn't been able to look at any sweets without feeling a horrible lurch of grief. His brother returning to the life of a hunter had helped him to deal with this as he then had a distraction from his thoughts, but Dean's return hadn't destroyed the roots that had settled in the back of Sam's mind. The pain was still there in his chest, slowly growing and growing, eating away at his insides.

And then the archangel just turned up in their motel one night, revealing that he had been resurrected. Sam had just stood completely frozen, wondering why the news had sent a wave of elation washing over him making him feel warmer inside than he had done for a very long time. It had taken every drop of his self-control not to run to the archangel and embrace him. All tension in his mind eased away the longer he stared at the grinning Gabriel, and it felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

He refused to believe he.. _Liked_.. The archangel. He could fully admit that after his sacrifice in the hotel, he had felt a new level of respect for the aged being, but that was far as he was willing to go.

So why couldn't he watch Gabriel eating a damn lollipop without his mind wandering?

He shook his head violently, earning him a confused gaze from Castiel. He quickly emptied his head of any such thoughts, remembering at the last second that Gabriel was able to read his mind. Still feeling Castiel's eyes on him, he locked his jaw and typed on his laptop keys a little harder than before. He sat lower in his chair, trying to hide his face, feeling certain that his humiliation was showing on his face.

Gabriel watched as Sam seemed to hunch himself over the laptop further and further until only the top of his head was visible. Stealing a side glance at his little brother, the archangel saw Castiel fixing Sam with his trademark confused, curious head tilt and piercing gaze. Gabriel felt his smirk return with a flare, and walked slowly over to the younger Winchester.

"Whatcha lookin' at, Sammy?"

"It's _Sam_." Came the snapped response.

"That didn't answer my question, Sammy."

Sam groaned in annoyance, and Gabriel had to clench his fists in an attempt to calm the sudden rush he had had to jump the man there and then to see what other noises he could coax out.

"What do you want, Gabriel?" Sam asked angrily, glancing up at him over the laptop.

'_You, kiddo. You in any position I damn well choose._' "Nothing. Just came to bug you." He grinned, trying to dispel the mental images his preferred response had stirred up.

Sam sighed. "We're trying to do some research here, so if you're not gonna help, why don't you just go?"

Nobody expected what happened next. They were fully prepared for Gabriel to sulk like a petulant child, to all but throw a hissy fit and then proceed to annoy the holy hell out of all of them until Dean threatened to stake him unless he left. They certainly didn't expect his entire body posture to visibly slump for a millisecond before he straightened up again.

"Fine." He said to the stunned silence, and then vanished with a snap of his fingers.

Even Castiel's usually apathetic features were borderline surprised. Sam was staring at the spot Gabriel had stood in only seconds before, eyebrows raised and eyes wide. Dean was still standing in front of the sofa, eyes flicking from his brother and the angel as if he couldn't believe what he had just witnessed.

"I've seen a hell of a lot as a hunter.." He muttered weakly. "But Gabriel actually _listening_ to us? That's not right.."

Silently, Sam nodded his agreement.


	3. Summer Paradise

_But someday I will find my way back_

_To where your name is written in the sand_

'_Cos I remember every sunset_

_I remember every word you said_

_We were never gonna say goodbye_

_Tell me how to get back to_

_Back to summer paradise with you_

_And I'll be there in a heartbeat_

_And I'd give away a thousand days, oh_

_Just to have another one with you_

Sam was still shocked by the morning's events hours later.

It was totally unlike Gabriel to just up and leave on demand. The archangel had a habit of sticking around, especially if he knew his presence was disrupting everyone else. Sam assumed it was the Trickster in him. He delighted in creating annoyance and frustration, and pushing Dean until he snapped was almost like a game. Not that it took much. Sam had fully expected to spend the day with Gabriel constantly breathing down his neck, and chose to ignore the shivers this thought sent slipping down his spine. The mental image of Gabriel anywhere near his throat was _not_ a pleasant one and he did _not_ enjoy it. At all.

Castiel, like Sam, had spent the majority of the day pondering the bizarre shift in the archangel's personality. He knew for a fact that Gabriel loved nothing more than to cause mayhem, and the perfect opportunity for him to do so was right before him. Even so, he had willingly left the motel, upon Sam's request Castiel couldn't help but notice. He observed the human with his usual tilted head, his mouth curved into a curious frown. He had never been that observant of emotion, mainly due to his lack of understanding, but even he had noticed the definite change in Sam's personality when his elder brother had appeared. The younger hunter had immediately tensed himself up and became irritable, although his reasoning for said behaviour was unclear to Castiel. And there was also the matter of Gabriel himself. Castiel had seen a miserable expression overtake the archangel's usual cocky grin moments before he had left although again, as to why, he was clueless.

"This is driving me crazy!" Dean snapped to the tense silence that had engulfed the motel room, slamming the laptop shut and pushing his chair away from the table. He ignored Sam's instant bitchface at the rough treatment of the device.

"What is wrong, Dean?" Castiel asked, finally snapping out of his own thoughts.

"I'm sick of sitting here in this damn motel room while people are getting possessed by those demons! It's useless!"

"We have to know what we're dealing with, Dean." Sam countered, his voice even.

"I know what we're dealing with. A bunch of demonic bastards that need to be blasted back to where they came from." Dean snarled in reply.

"Sam is right. We must be sure." Castiel usually made a point of staying out of the infamous Winchester family squabbles. So for him to voice his opinion was odd. Especially as he usually agreed with Dean.

"I can't find anything on the laptop or in the town," Dean argued, turning to the angel. Sam couldn't help but notice that his voice lost the furious edge the moment he spoke to Castiel. "Let's face it Cas, there's nothing possession going on here."

The angel paused, as if contemplating something. And then he spoke.

"We should ask Gabriel for his opinion on the matter. He can -"

"No way." Dean snarled straight away, his expression suddenly livid. "I'm not asking him for anything, much less help."

"He's not exactly got a clean record working for him, Cas.." Sam added. "I doubt he'd want to help us even if we asked him."

Castiel shrugged. "He seems to be in a rather.. Co-operative mood today."

Neither Dean nor Sam could argue with that. Dean threw his little brother a silent question; Sam responded with a shrug.

"It's not like we'd be any worse off."

Dean sighed reluctantly and then folded his arms over his torso, grimacing as if the experience was paining him. "Gabriel, I know you can hear me. Come back, would you?"

They waited, but nothing happened. After a few moments, Dean tried again. His jaw was locked and the words were forced, as if each one were causing him intense physical pain.

"We need your help, Gabriel."

Still nothing. Dean gave an exasperated sigh and shot Castiel a look that said 'Happy now?'. But for once, the angel wasn't looking at Dean. His blue eyes were fixed on the younger Winchester. When Sam finally caught his gaze he started, surprised that Castiel was staring at him. It took a few moments for what the look meant to register with Sam, and when it did, he rolled his eyes.

"Gabriel, come on.. Stop being childish.." He muttered, highly embarrassed that he was talking to thin air.

"Hey, that's one of my best traits!"

Sam jumped out of his skin and leapt off the bed where he had been sitting. Gabriel had just popped into existence right behind him. He was now sitting cross-legged on the bed, the ever-present lollipop sticking out of his mouth.

"Why didn't you answer me when I was calling you?" Dean snapped.

Gabriel shrugged, grinning. "I like Sammy more than I like you."

"I told you -"

"It's Sam." Both he and Gabriel spoke as one. His grin only widened as the younger hunter glared at him.

The archangel forced himself to look away rather quickly though. He just couldn't forget the seething blaze in Sam's eyes as he had told Gabriel to leave hours beforehand. The look alone had cemented the realisation the archangel had been aware of for a long time; Sam Winchester hated him. He _knew_ that, but that didn't stop the searing pain from shooting across his chest at the sight of those eyes. He had had to get out of that motel room _fast_.

Ignoring the still dull ache in his chest, Gabriel relaxed on the bed.

"I gotta admit Sammy, you're sending me mixed signals here.. Telling me to leave and then calling me back.. It's very confusing.."

"I'm not sending you _any_ signals.." Sam spat, mortified.

"Like you could resist me." Gabriel winked.

Sam only gaped at the archangel as he laughed. He was shocked at Gabriel's choice of words, but also the reaction said words had had on him. His heart had begun to pound, and his stomach had churned when the archangel had winked.

"Stop violating my brother's mind.." Dean snarled from the other side of the room, awaking Sam from his trance. He promptly closed his mouth and looked away from Gabriel.

"Trust me kiddo, if you think _that_ is violation, you've got a lot to learn.." Gabriel trailed off with a shrug. Sam felt his stomach flip again.

Dean opened his mouth to snap something back at Gabriel, but Sam cut across him. "We called you because we need your help."

Gabriel sat on the bed for a moment as if considering. And then, before anyone else in the motel room could so much as move, he leapt to his feet, grabbed a hold of Sam's wrist and the two of them vanished with a snap of his fingers. They landed a moment later on a beach. Sam instantly tugged his arm out of Gabriel's grip and backed away a few paces, turning on the spot to take in his surroundings.

They were standing on a long stretch of beach, the sand yellowy gold beneath their feet. Sam couldn't help but notice that the sand was almost the exact same colour as Gabriel's now glinting eyes. He turned away from the archangel abruptly, looking for a way out of wherever the hell Gabriel had zapped them off to. Far away from them on his right, blue waves rolled lazily on the shore of the beach. To his left was an arch of high, steep cliff faces, shrouding most of the sand beneath in dark shadows. Sam finally turned back to Gabriel; the archangel was lazily scribbling in the sand with a long stick, presumably waiting for the young hunter to stop his attempts to look for an escape route.

He seemed to sense Sam's eyes on him, because he glanced up and caught his eye. He grinned.

"Nice place, huh?"

"Where the hell is this?" Sam snapped, temper fraying.

Gabriel shrugged. "I dunno. I found it sometime before I got caught up in the whole Apocalypse drama."

Sam tensed, trying desperately to keep himself calm. "And why did you bring us here?"

Another shrug. "It's just a place to _talk_, Sammy."

"What was wrong with the motel?"

Gabriel didn't answer him, and went back to doodling on the sand. The archangel knew with a sinking feeling that he would be discovered the moment he returned Sam to the motel because of Castiel. The angel would see straight through his plan, and that would mean his closely guarded secret would finally be revealed. Well, to Castiel at least. But he'd had enough of the clones, of the constant wonder of whether the hunter's lips really were as cushiony as they looked. He had to _know_.

"I want to make a deal. I had a feeling your big brother would object to that."

Whatever Sam had been expecting, it certainly hadn't been that. He visibly relaxed, and even looked surprised. "Oh.."

Gabriel couldn't help but snicker. "What kiddo? You thought I was gonna jump you or something?"

Sam felt his face flush with humiliation as Gabriel continued to smirk at him. He closed his eyes and drew in a breath, calming himself, before he spoke. He was glad that his voice was even and calm, hiding the fact that Gabriel's words had drawn the same reactions as the wink back at the motel.

"What's in it for you?"

Gabriel seemed genuinely shocked at his question. "What?"

"You agreed to this far too quickly. What's in it for you?"

"Angel's deals aren't like demon's deals, you know Sammy." Gabriel scowled as if insulted. "I don't get your soul at the end of this or anything. Believe it or not, I just want to help." '_And keep you safe.._' His mind continued the words he refused to utter.

Staring back at the intense look Gabriel was now shooting at him provoked a rather unexpected reaction in Sam. He could _see_ the power emanating behind those amber eyes. They were so intent, so _deep_, he felt as if Gabriel were delving into his very soul with his eyes, and he couldn't help but wonder if Dean felt the same rush of exhilaration whenever he locked eyes with Castiel. It was a shocking experience, to say the least, and he felt a little shaken as he forced himself to break the contact with the archangel.

"Sorry. It's just.. You've been acting different lately."

The smile had returned to Gabriel's face, though it seemed rather forced. "Let's just say I had a change of heart." He clapped his hands before his wording could be questioned, taking Sam by surprise. "I can't tell you what's in the town, Sammy. I don't know myself. Can't say I feel anything particularly nasty though. But I'm willing to make a deal with you. I'll come to your aid if things get bad; all you have to do is call me."

Sam nodded, knowing what was to come. "How do we seal it?"

Gabriel smirked. "Cruel twist there Sammy. An angelic deal is sealed in the same way as a demon's. With a kiss."

The silence that followed these words was a tense one. Sam's eyes dropped to the floor and he looked to be deep in thought as he considered the offer Gabriel was giving him. The archangel managed to keep his face straight, but inside he was a mess. His heart was hammering against his ribs, and involuntary tremors had started up in his legs. His knees felt weak and he had to shift his weight several times in an attempt to stop them from buckling. He was desperately hoping that Sam would agree to the deal, not only because the archangel was fearful the human would be harmed, but he just wanted some sort of physical contact with him. He _needed_ it.

"You don't have to trust me, I know you don't.." Gabriel said quietly, unable to stand the silence. "I won't bug you unless you call for me. I promise." He added upon seeing the sceptical look on Sam's face.

He needed Sam to agree to the deal. He needed the contact with the human to stop his imagination from driving him insane. He needed to _feel_ something. But he also needed Sam to be _safe_. He needed him to stay out of harm's way. He certainly wasn't going to lose Sam to Hell. Not again.

"Okay."

Gabriel started, staring hard at Sam. The hunter was gazing intently back at the archangel, a slightly tensed smile on his face. Gabriel had been certain Sam would flat out refuse his offer upon hearing how the deal should be settled. He hadn't anticipated for Sam to agree after so little pestering. He took a deep breath and remained where he was, keeping eye contact with Sam at all times.

"It has to be through your own free will, Sammy. Otherwise it won't work." He explained.

The younger Winchester tensed at that, his resolve beginning to crumble. He seriously contemplated telling Gabriel that the deal was off for a fraction of a second. And then he made the mistake of meeting the archangel's gaze. There were the usual swirls of amber and gold, mixed with his usual flicker of confidence and mystery. And yet, the longer Sam stared at those brightly shining orbs, the more obvious the second glint in his eyes became.

Well hidden though it was, Gabriel couldn't keep the flicker of fear from his eyes. Dean Winchester was famous for hiding his genuine emotion, but his eyes _always_ gave him away. Sam supposed it was instinct that he looked past Gabriel's confident expression and focused solely on his eyes. And there, small but there nonetheless, was the same glimmer of fear Dean always had when he was trying to hide the fact he was terrified.

Sam supposed it was that spark that made him finally approach the archangel. Gabriel was just as scared of making the deal as he was and for some reason in Sam's opinion, that made the whole thing more genuine. It wasn't just a trick. Gabriel was really trying to help.

Sam's own fear and uncertainty were evident in his eyes as he reached Gabriel. The archangel had held eye contact with him all the while he had approached but now that they stood face to face, his gaze seemed to waver. Not knowing what else to do, Sam placed both of his hands either side of Gabriel's face. The warmth coming from the archangel was incredibly soothing and helped to calm his pounding heart. The soft touch of Sam's hands seemed to help Gabriel, because he managed to meet Sam's eyes again. Before he had a chance to talk himself out of what he was doing, Sam swooped down and captured the archangel's lips.

He instantly tasted the strawberry lollipop Gabriel had been sucking on back at the motel, and was pleasantly surprised when he found the archangel's lips to be far softer than he had thought. As he pulled away, he could have sworn Gabriel moved after him for a moment, but he concluded it was his imagination. He took a step back from the archangel, feeling that personal space was a necessity at that moment.

"That's it?" He asked quietly. He had expected to feel some overpowering rush of heat at least. But he didn't feel any different than how he did before the deal had been made.

"That's it." The archangel grinned. "Come on, let's get you back to the motel before my little brother figures out where we are."

He took Sam's wrist in his own and felt his already racing heart skip a beat when Sam didn't even struggle. With a snap of his fingers, they were landing back in the motel room. Dean yelled a rather colourful sentence at Gabriel as they landed and began to make his way over. The archangel released his grip on Sam immediately, and was just in the process of snapping himself away when he caught Castiel's eye. The angel's blue gaze was piercing him, and he knew there was no denying it. Castiel knew exactly what had transpired between the two of them. He just didn't know the reason.

Before Dean could reach him or Castiel could open his mouth, Gabriel snapped his fingers and was gone once again.

"That sonofabitch!" Dean snarled.

Castiel looked irritated at this remark, but chose not to comment. Sam, still feeling slightly lightheaded from the kiss and angelic mode of travel, collapsed onto his bed and lay back, staring up at the ceiling.

"What'd he do to you, Sammy?" Dean finally asked, his fuming tirade at Gabriel over and done with.

Sam paused, and he could practically feel the burning warmth of Gabriel's lips on his own.

"He just agreed to help us if we needed him." He replied with a shrug.

Not wanting to discuss the matter any further, Sam turned on his side and closed his eyes.

He could still taste the damn lollipop.


	4. You Suck At Love

_We started off incredible, connection undeniable_

_I swear I thought you were the one forever_

_But your love was like a loaded gun_

_You shot me down like everyone_

'_Cos everyone's replaceable and you're just so incapable_

_Of getting past skin deep_

_You're bad news, a history repeater_

_You can't trust a serial cheater_

_You're good at hooking up but you suck at love_

_You played me like an amateur_

_Then stabbed me like a murderer_

_I'm left for dead, another one of your victims_

Dean tried for a full hour to get a straight answer from his brother over just what had happened with Gabriel. At first, Sam had replied with snaps of 'I don't want to talk about it' and 'Just drop it, Dean', but these had quickly turned into unresponsive groans followed soon after by no response whatsoever. Castiel watched as Dean slowly got more and more irate at his brother's stubborn silence, until he physically had to intervene in order to stop Dean from throwing something at his brother's back.

"Sam will discuss this when he is ready Dean. Have patience."

Dean scowled at the angel. "Your brother's done something, and I want to know what."

"You have no proof that Gabriel has done any such thing. We know that he has given us his word, that is all."

"And that's not suspicious at all?" Dean said incredulously. "He never does anything unless there's something in it for him!" As both the angel and human were eyeing one another, Sam's twitch at these words went unnoticed.

"Maybe he is changing. What did he gain from fighting Lucifer?" Castiel asked calmly.

Dean closed his mouth at these words, drawing a blank on how to answer the angel's question. Gabriel hadn't been forced into helping them with the Apocalypse - like anyone could force the archangel to do anything he didn't want to do - he had just done it. It was only because of him that he, Sam and Kali had managed to escape with their lives. And he had paid the ultimate price for his sacrifice with his own existence. There was nothing for him to have gained in that battle, unless he really wanted his brother's head on a stick.

Still coming up blank, Dean's scowl deepened and he turned away from the angel, heading for the door.

"I'm going out." Whilst reaching for the door handle he added, "You coming, Cas?"

Castiel twitched, not expecting the invite, and was beside the human in an instant. As soon as the door closed behind them, Sam rolled over onto his back and sighed heavily. He was supposed to hate Gabriel. He was supposed to detest the damn archangel after everything he had put him and Dean through. So why couldn't he forget the softness of Gabriel's skin, or the rush of exhilaration he felt when their lips connected? Why in the name of all that was even _slightly_ holy did kissing Gabriel stir up the emotions deep within Sam that he had always felt when kissing Jessica?

The archangel was annoying. He was cocky. He was able to drive a saint to murder. He was vain, and he was selfish. He was just about everything Sam despised about other people.

And yet there was something about Gabriel that drove Sam mad in an entirely other sense. Everything about his being was childish and immature, right down to the lollipops he seemed to be constantly sucking. Sam couldn't watch him eat those damn things without a single reverberating thought echoing through his mind; '_I wonder what else he could do with that mouth_'. He would then remember Gabriel could read his thoughts, and hurriedly excused himself from the room or distracted his brain with something else. His behaviour was obvious, and he could tell that even Dean was beginning to suspect something. Hell, he couldn't even look into Gabriel's damn _eyes_ for long periods of time. He didn't like the way they made him feel; light headed and strangely relaxed.

Just like Jessica's used to.

But he had _loved_ Jessica. He did _not_ love Gabriel. Right..?

Ever the logical one, Sam sat up and drew in a deep breath to calm himself, trying to ignore the pounding of his heart. Gabriel irritated the hell out of him. But Sam couldn't deny the fact he had kind of missed the archangel after he had died. Well, maybe a bit more than kind of. Not being able to look at sweets for months without feeling physical pain suggested that the human missed Gabriel much more than he was willing to admit. Sam sighed again, dispelling these thoughts from his mind. Gabriel had done unforgiveable things to them, but he had sacrificed himself for them. Sam had wanted to hug the archangel when he had returned, and it was known that he wasn't all that keen on physical contact. Sam couldn't forget their kiss, even though it was just for the purpose of a deal. And every damn time he pictured the vulnerable look in Gabriel's eyes as he had approached, he felt his mouth automatically twitch at the corners to form a smile. The thought of Gabriel in pain sent a searing pain across his chest. The mental image of Gabriel lying in the hotel, his wings burned into the floor, was much worse.

He could practically hear Dean's voice; '_Face it Sammy. You got it bad'_.

Sam groaned and pitched backwards onto the bed, covering his face with his hands.

A short distance away in the other motel room, Gabriel was also lying on his bed. Unlike Sam however, he wasn't deep in thought. He was just grinning widely, feeling lighter than he had in months, unable to forget the feeling of Sam's hands on his face or the human's lips on his own.

He would never forget that.

He felt like a teenage girl once again, unable to keep the smile from his face, but for once he honestly didn't care one jot how he looked. He had just done something he'd been yearning to do for a very long time; kiss Sam Winchester. That knowledge made him deliriously happy, and as there was no-one else in the motel room with him, he was fully able to express that joy.

He knew he would never get another chance to repeat that action with Sam, so he was making the most of it, reliving the moment over and over in his mind.

Meanwhile, Castiel was sitting next to Dean in one of the town's many bars. The human was sitting slightly slouched on his stool, his elbows propped on the wooden surface of the scrubbed bar. He looked right at home whereas the angel beside him appeared far more tense than normal. He was sat bolt upright on his stool, eyes sweeping the interior of the bar several times over. He couldn't help but be wary of his surroundings. The building was dingy and dark; the perfect place for the demons to attack them where they sat.

"Why are we here, Dean?" He asked quietly.

"I needed a drink." The human replied shortly.

"You look like you could use one." Castiel twitched as a feminine voice interrupted their conversation. He turned to see a blonde woman behind the bar with a top so low cut it left little to the imagination. She was smiling widely at Dean. She handed him a beer, which he took with a grin.

"It's not the only thing I could do with, you know." The hunter said with a wink. In his lap, Castiel's hands curled into fists.

"Oh yeah?" The barmaid smiled, purposefully leaning forward against the counter. "And how could I help with that?"

Castiel couldn't take it anymore. The moment Dean's eyes slid to stare at the woman's overly exposed cleavage, he felt the familiar surge of white hot fury and he glared at her. The next moment, the glasses she had just picked up from the counter exploded in her grasp, their contents flying everywhere; over her, the bar and even Dean. Castiel glanced away sheepishly, ashamed he had allowed his temper to get the better of him. The barmaid stammered something to Dean before she hurried off to fetch something to mop up the counter.

Dean turned to the angel, his smile even wider.

"I love how that only made her shirt more see through."

The man sitting behind Castiel yelped in shock as his glass exploded too. The angel, not wanting to sit in that building any longer, slid from the stool and stormed from the bar without a word. Dean only just managed to catch a glimpse of Castiel's eyes before he was vanishing behind the slamming door. The usually calm blue eyes were icy and steely with anger, a look Dean had only seen once or twice before on the angel.

Rather than calmly wondering what had angered Castiel to badly, Dean felt his frustration growing. He had taken the angel to the bar under the pretence of calming himself down. In reality, he just wanted to be somewhere that was close to Castiel. He felt closer to Castiel than he had to anyone for a very long time. He and Sam had drifted apart slowly, but Castiel had always been there. He had seen Dean at his very worst and he had stayed. Others had left him, but not Castiel. He was always there as soon as Dean said the word.

It was only natural that the hunter would fall for the angel one day. It was inevitable. He had tried to ignore it at first, but after spending further time with Castiel, he could no longer do so. There was just no denying it; no way that Dean could lie to himself about his own feelings anymore. But there was also no chance of anything happening with the angel. He barely understood the concepts of basic human emotion, let alone knowing how to act on them. If Dean tried anything to show Castiel how he felt.. Well, he didn't want to think about the ensuing chaos.

He couldn't help that he was irresistible, or that women in the bars gravitated to him like he had his own magnetic pull. He had needs that had to be fulfilled, and the bars were the ideal places to do just that. And it wasn't like Castiel was unused to Dean's flirtatious manner. So why the hell was the angel pulling a hissy fit rivalling the tantrums of moody toddlers?

Dean's bad mood didn't improve as he pushed his way out of the bar after the angel.

There was no sign of Castiel outside, but there was a definite angelic presence waiting for Dean. The angel in question was sitting on the hood of the Impala, his booted feet resting shamelessly on his baby. Dean scowled furiously as his green eyes locked with the glinting amber ones in front of him, his hands instinctively curling into fists at his sides.

"What the hell do you want, Gabriel?" He snarled angrily, eyes locking on the way the archangel's feet were staining the sleek black of his precious car. "Get the hell off my baby."

His order was blatantly ignored as Gabriel only settled further back onto the hood of the car. As Dean's ferocious scowl gained menace at this, Gabriel smiled triumphantly.

"You know Winchester, for someone who really has the angels singing his praises, you're pretty stupid."

"What?" Dean snapped.

"If you really intend to continue hurting my brother, I'll have no choice but to intervene."

"What the hell are you talking about?" The hunter growled, his wafer thin patience snapping.

"Castiel and I are very different," Gabriel responded with a shrug. "Practically poles apart. But that doesn't change the fact that out of all my many brothers and sisters, he's the one I feel closest to."

"Have you got a point to this, Gabriel?" Dean snarled threateningly.

"My point is, Winchester," When the archangel spoke this time, all humour had gone from his voice to be replaced with cold anger. "I won't hesitate to put you back into Hell if you keep this up. I'm not going to stand by and let bad things happen to Castiel, particularly by _your_ hands. I know I don't strike you as the protective brother type, but hey, I'm full of surprises. What I'm basically saying Deano," He slid off the Impala and approached Dean, his amber eyes still glinting with the same cold warning, "Is if you carry on like this, I'm going to do very bad things to you."

"Carry on like _what_?" Dean responded, throwing his arms wide. As far as he was concerned, he had done nothing wrong. Castiel, for reasons known only to himself, had stormed out of the building without a word of explanation. Dean was going out of his way to check that the angel was unharmed by following him straight away, only to be given the third degree by Gabriel the moment he left the bar himself.

"Even you're not that thick, Winchester." Gabriel said icily before he was gone with a snap of his fingers.

Dean stood transfixed for a long time afterwards, shocked speechless by what he had just witnessed. An archangel had essentially just given him a much blunter version of the overly cliché 'Hurt-my-sibling-and-face-my-wrath' speeches. It was shocking, to say the least. Gabriel was most definitely _not_ a force to be reckoned with. Although he chose to use his abilities mainly for creating various sugar products for himself, it could not be denied that he was powerful. Dean had no doubts whatsoever that the archangel could follow through on his threat of dropping him back into Hell without even needing to raise a finger.

But it wasn't this knowledge that had stunned the hunter. It was Gabriel's reasoning for acting as he had. Unless Dean was jumping to very wild conclusions, Gabriel was implying that Castiel's disappearing act from the bar was because something had happened within the building that had hurt the angel. Swallowing the anger clouding his mind, Dean took himself back to just before Castiel had up and run.

He had been just sitting there as he normally did, probably glancing about for any signs of danger rather than relaxing. Then the barmaid had come over, and Dean's eyes had automatically travelled to her chest. It wasn't like she was making much effort of hiding them away. Soon afterwards though, those glasses had exploded. Dean had at first assumed she had been grasping them too tightly, but he supposed it was equally possible that, for his own reasons, Castiel had made them shatter. And it would also explain why another man's glass had broken soon after the first ones.

But that just raised more questions.

Ones like why the hell did Castiel care that a barmaid was flirting with the hunter? Wasn't that behaviour part of Dean's usual routine? And why wasn't Castiel waiting for him outside the bar like he normally was?

Dean groaned. He had planned to use the bar as an escape from thinking and instead had been bombarded with more confusion than before he had left the motel. Grumbling quietly to himself, he stormed to the Impala and threw himself into the driver's seat, vowing to kill Gabriel if his boots had made any marks on his beloved car. In less than ten minutes, he was out of the car again, letting himself into the motel. He was not at all surprised to find Castiel standing idly near the door, blue eyes fixing on his the moment he set foot inside the room. His heart skipped the usual beat the moment he met the perfect blue of Castiel's gaze.

"Is something troubling you, Dean?" Castiel asked, his head tilting to the side slightly.

"I've got a whole damn list, Cas.." He mumbled, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I think the one that I want answered most though is why your brother decided to threaten me outside the bar after you'd vanished."

Castiel's eyes widened slightly. "Gabriel?"

"The one and only."

"Why would he do such a thing?" Castiel sounded genuinely confused.

Dean studied the angel's face for a moment, considering whether or not to repeat what Gabriel had said to him. Instead, he decided against it. It would raise too many questions, and Dean would be forced to admit things he would much rather keep to himself concerning the angel before him. He shrugged.

"Beats the hell out of me. Why does he do anything?"

On the bed, ignored by the two others in the room, Sam shifted uncomfortably. He was asking himself the exact same thing.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey everyone. Sorry for the delay with this chapter; I went to see Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 the other day, and I've only just regained the ability to stop myself randomly crying ._. That and the end of this chapter just did NOT want to get written.. Anyway, here we go xD Hope you like! x Oh, and thank you so much to everyone who's posted me such kind reviews, I love you all, you make my day! :D <strong>


	5. Jet Lag

_What time is it where you are?_

_I miss you more than anything_

_I'm back at home; you feel so far_

_Waiting for the phone to ring_

_It's getting lonely living upside down_

_I don't even wanna be in this town_

_Going out of my head, alone in this bed_

_I wake up to the sunset_

_And it's driving me mad, I miss you so bad_

_And my heart, heart, heart is so jet lagged_

He was going to regret his actions.

Gabriel had realised that the moment he had snapped himself back to his motel room. Despite his taunting, he knew that Dean Winchester wasn't stupid. And even if he had one of his moments of idiocy, he was close to others who most certainly didn't. Gabriel knew the second Dean mentioned his appearance to Castiel, the angel would realise he was nearby and come searching. He had essentially done the equivalent of strapping a giant neon flashing sign to his head which brightly lit up his name in tall, clear letters.

But he didn't regret that decision, at least at the moment. There were instances when Dean Winchester needed to be taken down a couple of notches, and tonight had been no exception to this rule. Gabriel knew for a fact that Castiel wasn't going to be telling him what was wrong any time soon, and Sam's presence was missing, so that left only one option. It had taken every ounce of self-control he possessed not to scream into the hunter's face about the true reasoning behind Castiel's hasty exit. Only at the last second did he remind himself that had he done so, it would make him the world's biggest hypocrite.

He was doing exactly what Castiel had done. He was running rather than facing his own emotions head on. He was trying to squash them down, to forget about his love for Sam Winchester. There was no chance that anything was even _remotely_ likely to happen between himself and the human he desired. At least Castiel had a chance at happiness; he and Dean shared something special. What did him and Sam share? A history of pain, suffering, torture and endless annoyance. And that was a _great_ base for a romantic relationship. Not.

Gabriel groaned and pitched head first onto his bed, burying his face into a pillow. Kissing Sam was supposed to be enough. It was _supposed_ to give him the closure he needed. The one taste of happiness. It was supposed to be enough for him. But the simple fact of the matter was that it wasn't. It wasn't _close_ to enough. The kiss had left the archangel craving more, _needing_ more.

It was a stupid idea.

It was _moronic_, on par with any ridiculous choice the Winchesters had made over the years. Hell, he was on par with the outrageous _Ghost Facers_, or whatever the hell they were calling themselves when it came to stupidity.

And now he was stuck with it. Stuck with only remembering, and having to be content with that.

For the first time in his existence, Gabriel regretted being brought back. When he had died before his brother, the pain of being without the younger Winchester had finally ceased. It was gone. When he had returned, it too came rushing back to him with passion. Visiting Sam had been the first thing he had done, and almost instantly regretted it. His sacrifice had not been enough to extinguish the fury Sam's memories of Gabriel brought; the archangel could see that in his eyes the moment he spotted him. And that hurt him more than any sword in his gut ever could.

He sighed, and rolled over onto his back. As he lay there, he snapped his fingers almost wearily. An instant later, a replica of Sam had appeared beside him. Withholding another sigh with difficulty, Gabriel crawled to the clone and nestled in its arms. Before his eyes closed, he caught sight of its hands. As the memories of the kiss rushed back to him, Gabriel ignored the flash of pain across his chest.

He was getting used to ignoring the pain by now.

It wasn't like it was ever going to stop, was it?

* * *

><p>'Confusion' was also an emotion Castiel had begun to understand, having experienced it many times around the Winchesters with their strange, alien habits. His usual practise in these circumstances was to keep his mouth shut and simply observe, trying to make sense of what was happening between breaks in the conversation. In the situation he currently found himself in however, he was utterly nonplussed on how to react.<p>

Soon after Dean had returned to the motel room, he had gone to bed, still in a very bad temper. Castiel, not knowing what else to do, left the room to try and make some sort of sense of the evening's events. Gabriel had appeared in the room hours previously, dragged Sam off somewhere and returned shortly afterwards. Castiel had instantly realised what had transpired between the two of them, of course, but he chose not to voice the many questions that exploded in his mind. He knew this would only anger Dean further and the hunter clearly needed time to calm down, not hear words that would make him launch into a full-scale hissy fit. And then, about an hour after this, Gabriel had appeared yet again, this time to threaten Dean. His elder brother's behaviour was strange, Dean had been right about that. Castiel knew for a fact that Gabriel must have been relatively close by to have known about the bar incident at all, so he vowed to search the local vicinity.

It was a metaphorical needle in a haystack, he knew. But he murmured a human phrase Dean had taught him as if to concrete his decision; 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained'. It certainly applied in his current situation.

He decided the best place to start would be the bar, even though an alien pain in his chest was yearning not to return to that place. He ignored it, and within moments was standing outside the still raging building. Castiel turned his back on it, an involuntary scowl slipping onto his face.

Gabriel had turned hiding from his angelic brothers and sisters into an art form.

So Castiel certainly hadn't been expecting to feel a faint trace of him coming from just outside the town.

Frowning deeply, the angel flew to where the feeble trace was coming from. Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw.

Gabriel was lying, fast asleep, in the centre of a motel double bed fully dressed. But it was who he was laying with that hit Castiel with a wave of confusion. The angel's eyes widened automatically, before he transported himself back to the Winchester's motel room. Sleeping peacefully in the far bed was Sam. In the blink of an eye, Castiel was back in the motel room housing Gabriel, tilting his head to the side as he continued to stare. There was another Sam sleeping serenely next to Gabriel, his powerful arms wrapped loosely around the archangel.

Just as he was wondering what to do in the rather awkward situation, Gabriel's eyes opened a crack and he blearily considered the angel standing near the door.

That sleepy stillness lasted about two seconds.

The next moment, Gabriel was sitting bolt upright, scrambling away from the still sleeping Sam as fast as his legs could propel his body across the bed, swearing at the top of his voice. Castiel stood his ground, watching this with the exact same look of utter bewilderment as Gabriel came to a rest at the far end of the bed. Glancing away from his brother, he snapped his fingers. The replica vanished into nothingness, but Gabriel didn't glance up. He was sitting with his legs over the side of the bed, his head held in his hands.

It was Castiel who broke the tense silence.

"What is going on, Gabriel?"

"The hell does it look like?" The archangel grumbled after a few seconds of further silence.

"It looks as if you are compensating for something. In this case, Sam Winchester." Castiel replied. Gabriel groaned at his brother's habit for telling the brutal, honest truth.

"Give the guy a medal." He growled nastily.

Castiel looked, if possible, more confused at these words. "What are you talking about medals for?"

The archangel sighed in exasperation. "Never mind, Castiel. It's just a phrase."

Castiel looked from his older brother to the now empty space the Sam clone had been occupying a few moments beforehand. Gabriel hadn't moved from his last position; in fact he was trying to hunch himself up tighter. The younger angel knew that this, coupled with the fact Gabriel still had yet to meet his eyes properly, was a definite sign. He knew that the tenseness of Gabriel's shoulders and his hunched up body meant that he wanted to be left well alone. After plenty of experience with Dean who had honed the look to a fine art, Castiel shrugged his shoulders.

"I will refrain from mentioning this to Dean or Sam." He announced, before leaving.

Gabriel didn't look up until he was certain Castiel had left. When he could no longer feel his brother's presence, he flopped backwards onto the bed with a weary sigh and covered his face once more with his hands.

"Great.." He muttered, his tone dull, quite unlike his usual cheery voice. "Just bloody _brilliant_.." He tore his hands from his face and glared up at the motel ceiling. "If I hadn't seen you for myself, I'd be certain you didn't damn well exist."

And of course, nobody replied.


	6. Astronaut

_My mind is running empty_

_In the search for someone else who doesn't look right through me_

'_Cos tonight I'm feeling like an astronaut_

_Now I'm stuck out here, and the world forgot_

_If you hear my voice, come pick me up_

_Are you out there?_

'_Cos you're all I've got_

_Sam sat up, his entire body feeling like lead, but for once the motel room around him was peacefully quiet. No Dean blaring ridiculously out-of-date music directly into his ear, forcing him from his sleep. No flapping of wings as Castiel arrived or left their presence. No phone calls from Bobby, alerting them to the possible existence of a hunt. No sounds whatsoever._

_Maybe that was why Sam immediately tensed. It was too quiet._

_He swung his legs off his bed and got to his feet, glancing around the dimly lit motel room. The bed next to his was deserted and looked as though it hadn't been slept in; it was too neatly made. Keeping his eyes on the motel, Sam reached underneath his pillow to draw the gun he kept hidden there, just in case. He felt a little safer holding the weapon in his grip as he tiptoed almost silently towards the bathroom. Pressing his back to the doorframe and holding the gun steady, he pushed the door open and peered inside. It was deserted. _

_Dean must have gone out, presumably to get food. He had definitely gone to bed last night, Sam knew; he had heard the creaking of the springs in the mattress as he collapsed onto it. As for the neatness of his bed, Sam could only assume he was turning over a new leaf. The hunter frowned and rolled his eyes at his own musings. Dean, change? There were better chances of Gabriel seeking help for his sugar addiction. Lowering the gun, he began to turn. He was being ridiculous, leaping immediately to the worst conclusion upon waking up and finding himself in a deserted motel. Of course it'd be quiet; he was the only one there. Dean had just gone to get himself something to eat, and Castiel was either with him or doing whatever the hell it was when he wasn't ogling the elder Winchester. _

_What he saw when he'd completed his turn made him raise the gun immediately, and take aim._

_"Woah, Kiddo!" Gabriel cried, raising his hands and grinning. _

_Sam gave an exasperated sigh and lowered the gun once more. "Oh my effing God!" _

_"Close." Gabriel smiled. "And I think you'll find that's a little blasphemous."_

_Sam frowned at the archangel. "Don't even get me started on blasphemy where you're concerned, Gabriel.."_

_Gabriel heaved a great gasp, clapping a hand to his chest in mock insult. "How dare you! I'm the picture of angelic grace!" When Sam's only reply was a raised eyebrow, the archangel sniggered. "Okay, well at least I know how to live a little."_

_Sam rolled his eyes again, and placed the gun onto the nearest surface, which happened to be a table. "What are you doing here this time Gabriel? I thought you said you were only going to come to us if we called?" He ignored the way his stomach clenched when his mind strayed to the deal._

_"Correction Sammy; if _you_ call me. As far as I'm concerned, Deano can scream and shout until he's blue in the face. I'm only coming for _you_."_

_"Oh.." Sam said quietly, his cheeks flushing a little. He refused point blank to acknowledge the second clench in his stomach at not only Gabriel's words, but also his tone of voice. It was almost, well.. Seductive. As if there was a hidden meaning behind what he was saying._

_Too late Sam saw the widened grin and the quirk of an eyebrow. He dropped his gaze from Gabriel's, but saw the archangel take a step towards him. Frowning, he took one back, still not looking at the being in front of him._

_"What do you think you're doing?" He asked. He had meant to sound angry, but instead, his voice had come out in a kind of curious fashion._

_"Just what you want me to do, Sammy.." Gabriel said evenly. There was a faint pop and Sam dared a look. He instantly wished he hadn't. Gabriel was now twirling a lollipop between his fingers. _

_"W.. What I want you to do?" He said incredulously, starting when his back hit a solid surface. Gabriel had backed him all the way to the wall, and was still advancing, the lollipop twisting about in his grip._

_"I'm assuming so, Kiddo.." The archangel smiled, his golden eyes never leaving Sam's. The hunter found he couldn't look away. "I mean, this _is_ your dream, after all.."_

_"I.. I'm dreaming?" Sam asked quietly, hardly able to believe it. Everything just seemed too real; he could even _smell_ Gabriel. It was the soft aroma that usually hung around candy floss; full of sugar and sweetness. Not that Sam knew what Gabriel smelt like. It was just what he associated the archangel with. That was all._

_"Afraid so," Gabriel said, finally coming to a halt just in front of Sam. He grinned, bouncing on the balls of his feet, and finally put the lollipop into his mouth. "But Sammy, this is raising rather.. Worrying questions, don't you think?"_

_Sam, who had been watching the lollipop almost enviously, twitched violently and his eyes flew back to Gabriel's eyes. "W.. What?"_

_The archangel's grin widened as if he knew precisely what Sam was trying to hide. "Well, let's look at the facts here. This is _your_ dream, right?" Sam nodded, somewhat hesitantly. "So logically, you're controlling this?"_

_"I.. Guess so?" He swallowed. "What's your point?"_

_"My point Sammy," Gabriel took the sweet from his mouth and licked his lips. Sam watched every movement as if bewitched. "Is why you can't seem to look away. Or why I'm even here. I mean, the amount of hours you've wasted on those porn websites; I could be any number of busty sluts.. But yet you're dreaming of an albeit sexy as hell, male, archangel. Wanna explain why?"_

_Even though he was dreaming, Sam's brain seemed to be functioning in the same way it normally would have done in his waking hours. But no matter how much he raked his mind, combed to the very corners of his head for reasons, there just weren't any. There was no adequate reason for why it was Gabriel in front of him, making a familiar sensation of heat build up in the pit of his stomach the more he played with that damn lollipop instead of a random girl. It had just.. Happened. And he was slowly losing control of himself. _

_The rational part of his brain was screaming at him to push Gabriel out of the way, free himself from being trapped to the wall. But it was in a slim minority. So, before he could think about what he was doing, he'd grabbed the lollipop stick from between Gabriel's lips._

_"Gimme that damn thing," He growled, pulling it away from the archangel, who was grinning once again._

_He released the sweet and seized a fistful of Gabriel's shirt, tugging the archangel towards him. He allowed himself to be hauled over, and a fraction of a second later, Sam was pressing his lips to Gabriel's. Once again, he tasted the cherry flavour of the lollipop, combined with the much more luxurious taste of chocolate. Gabriel bit his lip playfully, and Sam felt his smile as their lips met once again. _

_It was annoying having to bend down to kiss the archangel. He curled his arms around Gabriel's waist and lifted him up. He felt Gabriel's mouth open slightly in shock; Sam seized his chance by exploring the archangel's mouth. He immediately tasted more chocolate mixing with the cherry lollipop. Gabriel had his hands lost in Sam's hair and curled his legs around the hunter's waist, drawing a muffled moan from the taller man._

_Sam began to walk through the motel, not once drawing away from the close contact he was currently sharing with the archangel. When he felt his bed bumping against his kneecaps, he dropped Gabriel onto it. The archangel sprawled on the mattress before him, grinning up at him._

_"I gotta say Kiddo, I'm shocked.."_

_"Shut the hell up.." Sam said, his voice oddly dark as he bent once more over the archangel._

And that was when Sam sat bolt upright in his bed, his face pillar-box red, his eyes wide. His entire body felt tense, and he still felt incredibly hot beneath his skin. He didn't need to lift the covers to know what had happened.

"Oh God.." He muttered, and then a very nasty thought occurred to him; _had he made any noise?_

Panic flooding through him, Sam turned to stare at the motel room. Dean was still fast asleep, tangled up in the bed sheets, his mouth hanging unceremoniously open. Castiel was nowhere to be seen. Still not looking down, Sam threw off his covers and made a dash for the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

Even if he _did_ need Gabriel's help, he couldn't see how he'd be able to bring himself to call him. Hell, Sam doubted he'd ever be able to _face_ the archangel after that. He found it almost impossible to look at Gabriel when he was eating a lollipop already. Now he'd have to deal with mental images from that dream cropping up in his imagination instead.

He frowned bitterly as he turned the shower on. At least the dream had helped to clear something up in Sam's mind.

He _did_ feel something for the archangel.

He just didn't know if it was love or lust. But if it was just the latter, wouldn't he have dreamt of a woman, as Gabriel had annoyingly pointed out? Scowling, Sam stepped into the shower.

It was at least an hour before he emerged. By that time, Dean was sitting up on his bed fully dressed and shot Sam a curious look as he passed.

"Thought you were trying to drown yourself in there."

Sam didn't reply. He just busied himself with grabbing clothes and tugging them onto his body, trying his level best not to think about his dream. It didn't help that he had dreamt of the very motel they were staying in at the moment; every little thing was acting as a reminder for him. As he pulled a t-shirt on over his torso, he caught sight of his bed and immediately flushed scarlet. He whirled around on his heel and tugged a hooded jumper over his head, face set in a moody glare. Dean, who had left the vicinity abruptly as his brother changed, poked his head out of the bathroom.

"Dude, you okay?"

"Fine." Sam replied shortly.

"Sure? You're acting weird."

"Just drop it Dean!" He cried, his voice one octave too high. Dean's eyebrows rose, and then a knowing smile flashed across his face.

"Dude, what you do in your private time is for you, I _really_ don't want you to tell me."

Before Sam could yell something in response, he had ducked out of sight behind the door again and closed it with a snap. Grumbling to himself, Sam started to towel his hair dry. He just wanted to forget all about last night; he didn't have the will to cope with Gabriel _and_ the hunt. He would force himself to focus on their job; that was what was important. After that, unless another hunt came up, he supposed he would have to consider the possibility he might just have fallen for an archangel.

* * *

><p>Sam paused, yet again, from typing on his laptop to glance up. He felt his scowl growing as his patience began to wane. He was going to snap soon, he knew, unless one of them did something and did it soon.<p>

Castiel and Dean were sitting on opposite sides of the motel; Castiel on Dean's bed and Dean at the table next to Sam. And once again, the two of them were staring at one another as if there was no third presence in the room at all. Castiel had a book perched in his lap, but he hadn't looked down at it for a while. The eye-fucking caused such tension, Sam felt as if he were drowning where he sat. A muscle was ticking in his jaw as he fought to keep control of his temper.

He was so tempted, so _sorely_ tempted to jump to his feet and tell them to get the hell over the annoying stage their relationship seemed to be stuck at. But Sam knew this tactic would get him absolutely nowhere. Castiel would probably say nothing at all but fix him with that deer-in-the-headlights look as if to silently suggest that Sam was crazy for suggesting such a thing. Dean would go in the complete opposite direction and make a big scene proclaiming that he was in no way whatsoever feeling anything remotely like what Sam was proposing towards Castiel. It was like dealing with a pair of _teenagers_.

Sam found it hideously ironic when he found himself comparing Dean and Castiel's relationship with his and Gabriel's. He knew for a fact that the archangel would take no hesitation in announcing their relationship whether Sam wanted him to or not. He supposed that way was far less irritating than the constant eye-fucking Dean and Castiel did. At least Gabriel's way the awkward silences for anyone else in the room could be avoided, and Dean wouldn't have to put up with the same irritations Sam had dealt with, being stuck inside the same motel room as the hunter and the angel.

When he could finally take it no longer, he resisted the temptation to leap up and instead got slowly to his feet.

"I'm thirsty; I'm gonna go get some coffee. Dean, how about you?"

"Sure Sammy." His brother replied, finally tearing his gaze away from the angel and watching Sam instead. "Or pie, if it's going."

"Dude, it's nine in the morning.."

"It's never too early for pie, Sammy." Dean spoke in an almost insulted voice, fixing Sam with a stern glare.

Sam rolled his eyes, grabbed his wallet and left the motel room. It was probably his imagination, but the air seemed so much _lighter_ out of that room. He breathed in deeply, filling his lungs with fresh air, enjoying the short lived freedom before he'd have to back inside that damn room. He turned towards the town, hands shoved deep into his pockets, his head bent.

In no time at all, he'd reached a small diner. He went inside and headed straight for the counter. A slightly plump woman stood there, her light brown hair falling from its bun at the back of her head. She looked exhausted, but still managed to beam at Sam as he approached.

"What'll it be, hun?" She asked.

"Two coffees please." He replied quietly, running a hand over his face. "To take away." He added.

"Sure hun." She smiled warmly up at him. "You look like you could use it. Rough night?"

Sam grimaced as he remembered both the deal and the dream. "Guess you could say that.."

"Won't be a sec." She smiled, and then swept away to a machine towards the back of the room.

Sam settled himself down into one of the stools directly in front of the counter, propping his elbows on the polished surface. As he sat there, absent-mindedly watching the woman fill two polystyrene cups with coffee from the machine, his mind trailed back to the motel room. The thought of having to return there so soon was far from welcoming. It was practically _suffocating_.

He grinned at the irony as the thought crossed his mind, and before he could stop himself, he had muttered it under his breath.

"If only Gabriel was there.. At least it wouldn't be so damn awkward."

"I wouldn't bet on that Sammy. I could make it plenty awkward."

Sam only just managed to stop himself from swearing as he whirled around on his seat. Gabriel was standing behind him, arms folded over his chest, wide grin on his face. The hunter hastily cleared his mind of any thoughts concerning the dream; he certainly didn't want the archangel finding out about _that_.

"Gabriel, what the hell are you doing here?" He turned in his seat as he spoke, coming face to face with the smiling woman holding his coffee. He thanked her, paid her, took the drinks and slid off his seat.

"You called me."

"I did what?" Sam asked, puzzled, as he pushed the door open with his feet.

"You called me. I heard you."

Sam rolled his eyes. "I said your name. That's not the same as calling you."

But Gabriel wasn't listening. He fell into step with Sam as they walked back to the motel. The hunter frowned slightly. He was certain he'd be fine walking with Gabriel unless the archangel –

_Pop!_

Oh, Godammit.

Gabriel was now sucking on another damn lollipop. Sam focused all of his attention on the pavement at his feet, doing his level best not to glance sideways. He could turn a blind eye to what Gabriel was doing, but his ears were still fully functioning. Thanks to the lack of conversation between them, he could practically hear Gabriel sucking the sweet. Feeling his face heat up, Sam blurted out the first thing he could think of. _Anything_ to drown out those damn sounds.

"You know I didn't call you."

"Sorry Sammy, I thought you were aware of how this works.. You say my name, I come to you." Gabriel grinned up at him.

"So I can't say your name from now on, unless I want to call you?"

Gabriel nodded childishly. "Yup."

"You gonna keep following me?"

"I got nothing else to do." Gabriel replied with a shrug.

"Seriously? No people needing their come-uppance? No innocent lives to play with?"

"Oh Sammy, you know you're my favourite plaything." Gabriel grinned up at him. Before he could help it, a violent blush erupted in his cheeks. He turned away hurriedly, but he couldn't be sure he had done so in time. It seemed he was lucky though; Gabriel didn't mention it.

They had reached the motel. Sam handed Gabriel the coffee cups as he took the key from his pocket and unlocked the door. He turned to take the cups back, but stopped. Did he really want to spend the entire day locked up in that atmosphere? He would snap before the hour was up. Gabriel raised an inquisitive eyebrow at Sam's frozen position.

"Problem Sam?" He asked, genuine concern filling his voice before he could tune it out.

Luckily for him, the hunter didn't notice. He just shook his head and took the cups from Gabriel.

"Wah? Oh, no, nothing. I was just wondering if you wanted to stay with us for a bit?"

Gabriel's second eyebrow joined the first. "Excuse me?"

Sam frowned deeply, but decided telling the truth was the best course of action. "Dean and Cas are -" He began, but Gabriel held up a hand to stop him.

"It's the eye-fucking, isn't it?"

"How'd you know..?"

"Sam. Really?" Gabriel said, frowning. "They're _always_ at it." He shrugged. "Sure, I'll save you from the torture for a while. I promised I'd protect you didn't I?" He grinned.

Sam rolled his eyes once again, but couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from twitching upwards at Gabriel's words. He then opened the door and both he and Gabriel stepped inside. Dean glanced up when his brother walked in with the coffee, but his grin immediately melted into a scowl when he spotted who was lurking in his little brother's towering shadow.

"What the hell is he doing here?"

"Charming welcome as always." Gabriel muttered with a roll of his eyes, before he calmly walked into the motel and jumped onto Sam's bed. The younger hunter turned away from this scene immediately, busying himself with handing Dean his coffee.

"Just drop it Dean.." Sam muttered out of the corner of his mouth, before settling himself down on the sofa.

Dean looked irritable, but didn't speak a word. Castiel had finally picked his book off his lap and had raised it to his face, but Sam could see him continue to watch Dean over the top of it.

"So.. How goes the hunt?" Gabriel asked in an attempt to break the tense silence that had descended upon them all.

"We finally got somewhere." Dean announced, facing Sam instead of Gabriel. "Cas reckons he's found where the demons are. We're headed over there tonight to kill the bastards, so prepare yourself Sammy."

Sam nodded, taking a sip from his coffee. On his bed, Gabriel was frowning slightly. He had been dreading the moment the Winchesters discovered the source of trouble. He knew from observing them for so long that they had a tendency to find themselves in way too deep very quickly. He didn't mind admitting to himself that this prospect terrified him. He couldn't lose Sam again; he _wouldn't_. If Sam ever found himself thrown into Hell again, that was different. Gabriel would fight tooth and nail to drag him from that place. But if Sam died.. Nothing could save him from that.

Not that he'd ever say any of it to Sam's face, of course.

He slid off the bed and stretched, biting a great chunk off his lollipop.

"Call me if you need me Sammy, okay?"

"Sure." The hunter replied simply.

Gabriel wasn't convinced, and couldn't help the ball of anxiety in his stomach grow tighter. He knew where the Winchesters were in the motel room. He had found Dean at the bar because it hadn't taken him long to search each one in the town. But whatever place they were headed for tonight was a complete mystery. For all he knew, they could be leaving the town altogether. And thanks to the sigils carved on their ribs, he wouldn't be able to find them. Not unless Sam called him. And Gabriel had a nasty feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him the hunter would only do so as a last resort.

But he couldn't do anything now except return to his own motel room and wait. So that was what he did, ignoring the heavy feeling of dread in his stomach.


	7. This Song Saved My Life

_I wanna start by letting you know this_

_Because of you, my life has a purpose_

_You helped me be who I am today_

_I see myself in every word you say_

_Sometimes it feels like nobody gets me_

_Trapped in a world where everyone hates me_

_There's so much that I'm going through_

_I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you_

_I was broken, I was choking, I was lost_

_This song saved my life_

_I was bleeding, stopped believing, could have died_

_This song saved my life_

_I was down, I was drowning_

_But it came on just in time; this song saved my life_

_You're my escape when I'm stuck in this small town_

_You'll never know what it means to me_

_That I'm not alone_

_That I'll never have to be_

Sam refused to let any more thoughts about a certain archangel cross his mind for the rest of the day. They had finally found the spot in which the demons were congregating; he had to focus on the task at hand. If his mind wasn't fully on his job, it was entirely plausible that he'd find himself in pretty deep trouble quicker than blinking. These were demons, and if his previous encounters with the foul creatures were anything to go on, none of them would go down easily. Castiel had said their numbers were relatively small, which made Sam feel a little less tense about the whole ordeal.

He supposed it was because it was demons they were facing that he found himself withdrawing from Dean and Castiel as the day wore on. He knew that the risk of his craving for demon blood was always likely to rear its ugly head again if he came close to the damned things. He could tell that this thought was lingering on the minds of both his brother and the angel too; they kept shooting him furtive looks when they thought he couldn't see.

A tiny part of him wished Gabriel had stayed longer. At least he would have tried to make conversation, rather than allow the others to sit in morbid silence. More than once, he had to hold himself back from summoning the archangel just for his own entertainment.

Just the sky outside slowly began to darken, Dean, Sam and Castiel abandoned the motel room and piled into the Impala. Sam was clutching the handle of the demon-killing knife in a tighter grip than he had intended, a fixed scowl set on his face. Following instructions from Castiel who was sitting rigidly in his seat, Dean was soon leaving the town. As night well and truly fell around them, they reached a dingy looking bar. There were several cars parked near the entrance and Dean pulled over on the opposite side of the road. They watched in silence as another car pulled into the car park, stopped, and a thin man got out. He glanced hurriedly around him before walking briskly into the building.

Tightening his grip on the knife, Sam got out of the car and walked to the boot of the Impala. He lifted the hidden flooring of the boot and grabbed a bottle of holy water, slipping it into his jacket pocket. Dean soon joined him and followed suit. Neither spoke; there was no need to. Castiel joined them as Dean shut and locked the Impala, and he nodded once.

A minute later, Dean was kicking open the door of the building, holy water in hand. He promptly froze. Gathered inside, all turning to regard the hunters and angel as if they had been expected were at least thirty demons. Their black eyes were glinting maliciously, mouths curved upwards in evil grins.

Considering how badly outnumbered they were, the trio managed to hold their own relatively well at first. Dean charged in, throwing the contents of his bottle in every direction. The first row of demons shrieked and hissed as the holy water hit them and their skin began to burn, sinking back into the building a little. Sam followed closely behind his brother, showering the demons standing further back with the holy water in his own bottle, his longer arms able to launch the liquid further than Dean had done.

As always though, the effect of the holy water was only temporary, and soon the horde of demons was becoming too much for them. Dean began shooting as many as he could, splitting the demons' ranks with what remained of his holy water. Castiel, as always, stuck to Dean like a second shadow, and every so often the dingy bar was lit up by his demon exorcising light. Sam was left to fend for himself, which he was more than capable of doing.

Just as he had plunged Ruby's knife into another demon that had launched itself at him, he heard Dean's yell of warning and glanced up. Moments later, he felt excruciating pain in the small of his back. He physically felt the demon's clawed hand moving in his flesh, and was unable to bite back the wince of pain. Thick, warm blood began to pour from the wound in his back. The flow increased as the demon wrenched its hand from his flesh so roughly, Sam yelled out.

"Sam!"

Staggering slightly from the pain in his back, Sam turned. A pretty blonde girl was smiling up at him, her arm and front covered in his blood. He could feel the back of his shirt become sodden in the same liquid as it continued to slide down his spine.

"I've gotta say, Winchester, I'm a little disappointed." The demon in front of him said, laughing cruelly. "I was expecting so much _more_ from the ones who killed our Lord.."

"Go.. To Hell.." Sam managed to rasp.

"Already there, Winchester. Already there."

Summoning the last dregs of his strength, Sam shot forwards and managed to slice a thin cut on the girl's throat. The demon inside her let forth a choking gasp, before she slumped to the floor, bleeding profusely. Sam's knees buckled and he fell roughly to the wooden floor too, droplets of his own blood mingling with the girl's. His eyes were beginning to lose focus; the room was starting to spin.

The next moment, Sam was flung sideways as a booted foot connected hard with the side of his face. Smashing his head on the floor upon impact, Sam let out a strangled cry as the wound on his back hit the floor. The knife had been launched from his grip when he hit and had skidded a short distance away. He groped for it, but a moment later, another demon was pressing their foot on his chest.

It took all of his self-control not to scream, the pain was so intense. The demon's inhuman strength pressing into his ribs, combined with the added weight pushing his back to the floor was so painful, he nearly passed out.

"SAM!" Dean screamed from the other side of the bar, his panic evident in his voice.

His brother's voice willed a little more strength into him, and Sam forced his eyes to open fully. He gasped for breath beneath the demon's foot; it felt as if his ribs were cracking. A dribble of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth as he continued trying to breathe, somewhat raggedly.

"You're dead, Winchester." The demon standing on him snarled, lifting his foot only to stamp it back down again.

Sam couldn't bite back the scream at this, blood flying from his mouth. He could dimly hear Dean's frantic attempts to reach him, but the room was darkening. His eyes were sliding closed as the life he had clawed at began to slip away from him. He could see nothing but darkness now. His entire body was slowly growing numb. Sweet, sweet relief. Then beneath his eyelids, Sam saw the grinning face of Gabriel, so vividly it was almost as if the archangel were standing before him where he lay. It took great effort, but Sam managed to move his mouth.

"Gabriel.." He whispered.

The next moment, there was the sound of fluttering wings, before the pressure was removed from his chest. Sam forced some much needed oxygen into his aching lungs, and forced his eyes to open a crack. His vision swam a little at first, but after blinking once or twice, the fuzzing, blurry shapes became much clearer. Gabriel was standing in front of him, and the demons that had been crowding around Sam were shrinking back, some glancing towards the nearby door. Sam's eyes travelled back to the archangel. He seemed taller, and there was a powerful entity pulsating around him.

When he spoke, his voice was devoid of any of his normal cheer. He sounded far angrier than Sam could remember. Even his voice was shaking with the power he possessed as an archangel.

"Close your eyes right now." He ordered.

Sam didn't need telling twice. His eyes were only too happy to slide shut once again. The next moment, a blinding flash of white light illuminated the bar, and Sam's ears were full of the screams of agony from the demons. He winced, the light hurting him even though his eyes were firmly closed, the screams so loud they were reverberating in his ear drums.. And then suddenly, silence.

"Sam? Sam, can you hear me?"

Sam wanted to reply to Gabriel, but his eyelids were too heavy to lift, his body in too much pain to resist the darkness much longer..

"Come on Sammy, open your eyes."

The pain from his back had spread across his entire body. He could feel his warm blood congealing beneath him, spreading in a wider puddle around him. He wanted to sleep, he wanted the pain to end..

"Sam, I'm begging you, _please_.. _Please_ open your eyes.."

Gabriel's voice had turned to a whisper, and the desperation in his tone hit Sam harder than anything else had that evening. It sounded pleading and strangely thick, as if the archangel were holding back tears. But that was stupid, it was _Gabriel_. But after hearing him speak like that, Sam summoned every ounce of strength remaining in his body, and forced his eyes open. Gabriel was kneeling above him, his arms locked tightly around Sam. The hunter's head was positioned in the archangel's lap. Gabriel's amber eyes widened as Sam met his gaze.

"Gabriel..?"

"Yeah, I'm here Kiddo.." He whispered, relief flooding his voice now. "Just relax, okay? You're gonna be fine, I promise you."

And for a reason Sam couldn't explain, he instantly felt safe, wrapped up in Gabriel's arms. His eyes slid closed once more and he finally allowed unconsciousness to take him.

* * *

><p>Sam's eyes opened a crack. It still felt like lifting lead, but he forced himself to endure it. He found himself staring straight up at a ceiling of some building, but he knew it wasn't the bar. Barely containing his wince, he lifted his head slightly, and his eyes widened in surprise. He was back in his motel room, laying on his bed on top of the covers. A blanket covered everything below his waist and judging by the feelings on his legs, he was still wearing his jeans. His t-shirt and jacket however, had been removed. He stared at the white bandages wrapped around his stomach and chest with curiosity.<p>

Sudden movement across the other side of the room caught his attention. He closed his eyes, pretending to still be asleep, and saw an indistinguishable figure take a seat near the foot of his bed. He opened his eyes a little more, and his jaw dropped slightly.

He had been expecting to see Dean sitting there. But it wasn't his elder brother.

It was Gabriel.

He wasn't looking round at Sam; he was staring out of the window behind Sam's bed. The hunter's eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the archangel's curious facial expression. It was blank, devoid of any real emotion. His mouth was curved in a slight frown, and the glimmer that usually lit up his amber eyes seemed to have gone out. It was the look in his eyes that had sparked instant worry in Sam; they just seemed empty.

He watched as Gabriel ran a hand through his hair. It was messier than usual, and Sam had the distinct impression Gabriel had been running his hand through it a lot. His entire body posture seemed slumped, as if he had lost the will to hold himself upright. He was still staring out of the window at the still dark sky outside, and without warning, let out a miserable sigh. His face then fell into his hands and he slumped further forwards in his chair.

He looked so _lost_, and Sam was surprised when he felt his heart skip a beat at this thought. He wanted nothing more in that moment of watching Gabriel than to pull the archangel to him and hold him tightly. This sudden urge surprised Sam even more than the first had; he had never been a touchy feely person, so to be wanting to hold someone that had caused him so much trouble over the years was odd, if nothing else.

Then again, a lot of odd things had been happening to him lately concerning the archangel.

Kissing him had reignited the flame he had thought was long since extinguished; the flame he felt every time he had kissed Jessica. Although their only kiss had been for the purpose of a deal, it remained significantly stuck in Sam's memory. When he concentrated, he could still remember the soft touch of Gabriel's lips, or the gentle texture of his skin.

Gabriel's eyes also had a rather peculiar effect on him nowadays. He could lose himself in them for hours, counting just how many shades of colour they could turn. When he locked eyes with the archangel, he always felt a swooping sensation in the pit of his stomach, as if he had fallen a great distance. Staring into his eyes for long periods of time made him feel slightly light headed. Just like Jessica's used to.

And then, of course, there was the dream. Sam had, at first, hoped it had been caused by a wild coincidence or that his emotions were messed up from having kissed the archangel a few hours before falling asleep. But as Gabriel had pointed out in the dream, Sam had been in control. And he had certainly taken control of the situation in the dream. Back in the present, Sam shook his head, feeling his face ignite once more in a blush.

As he continued to stare at Gabriel's slumped back, Sam remembered the archangel's pulsating fury when he had arrived at the bar. He envisioned their roles being reversed; he, Sam, finding Gabriel slipping into unconsciousness, bleeding on the floor and surrounded by demons. At once, Sam was overcome with a white hot anger that shook him to the core. The first image was chased out of his mind by another; Gabriel lying on his back, his wings burnt into the ground around him as Lucifer walked away. Sam didn't realise he was shaking or clenching his fists until his nails bit into his palm.

As he unclenched his fists, his anger melted away to be replaced with guilt; horrible, aching guilt. After everything he had done to them, Gabriel had sacrificed his life to save theirs. And had they stayed to help him fight his brother? No. They had fled. Sam continued to stare at Gabriel, feeling disgusted with himself. How could Gabriel bare to look him in the eye? They had abandoned him to his fate. Gabriel ought to have done the same tonight; walked away while Sam lay dying on the bar floor.

Why..? Why had Gabriel saved him? Why didn't he blame Sam and Dean for his death? Why, when he returned, did he continue as if nothing had happened between them? Why had he come to save Sam, knowing full well that not too long ago, Sam had walked away from him? He needed to know. He needed to understand. He needed Gabriel to tell him _why_.

But as Sam opened his mouth to speak, his throat closed up. A sudden, prickling fear had crept up on him. What if Gabriel, by some miracle, didn't blame Sam or Dean for his death but chose to do so once Sam had questioned him? He wanted answers, but he realised with a pang, that he wanted the archangel to remain by his side more.

Growing close to Gabriel was a decision he did not regret in the slightest.

Yes, he drove Sam crazy. He was annoying. He was cocky. He had the mental age of a three year old.

But it turned out, he was exactly what Sam was looking for. The hunter felt his heartbeat quicken with this realisation, and watched the archangel with a much softer stare than before.

"Gabriel..?" He said, surprised by how weak his voice sounded.

His first intention had been to declare the revelation he had just come to in his own mind, but once again, fear stole his words. There was relatively no chance at all that the archangel returned his feelings, Sam realised that with a sinking feeling. After all, angels were notorious for considering human beings to be second rate. Add to that his history with demon blood and his own trip to hell, and Sam found it astonishing that Gabriel was willing to as much as _talk_ to him as an equal.

The archangel jumped out of his skin and whirled around, his eyes widening. Sam opened his mouth, intending to thank him, but he never managed to get the words out; Gabriel's next action stole them from him. Without a word, he vaulted over the end of the bed, crawled to Sam and threw his arms around the hunter, holding him far tighter than Sam could remember being held before. His heart thudded a little faster as he wound his arms around Gabriel's small frame, and found a small smile playing on his lips when he discovered that the archangel slotted perfectly into his embrace.

He couldn't deny it any longer.

Sam Winchester had fallen for the archangel Gabriel.


	8. Freaking Me Out

_Think you're real, but you're fake_

_Think you're deep, but you're shallow_

_You've become what you hate_

_Now you're lost, just a shadow_

_But everything you say, everything you do_

_Is freaking me out, freaking me out_

_You know we used to be the same_

_Who the hell are you?_

_Freaking me out, freaking me out_

_Then I swear I thought I knew you_

_But all that was yesterday_

_And now you turn it around; what's that about?_

'_Cos you're freaking me out, freaking me out_

_Wake up, wake up, wake up_

_Snap out of it_

It had taken every ounce of self-control he possessed not to snap himself back to the motel room the instant he had left it, just to keep an eye on Sam, but Gabriel knew he had to resist such temptations. For one, he knew the Winchesters liked having their own personal space just before a hunt; it gave them time to get themselves into the right frame of mind and to focus more clearly on what needed to be done. For another, he sincerely doubted Dean would welcome his return and was more likely than not to try and attack him before setting out on the hunt itself. But the most compelling factor was that he highly doubted Sam wanted him there.

The younger Winchester had been even more evasive than usual during their short walk from the diner back to the motel; he had barely met Gabriel's eyes once. The archangel had done well to cover up the unpleasant lurch in his stomach every time Sam did this, and even more so to resist the almost overpowering desire to seize the sides of Sam's head and _make_ him meet his eyes. This urge had almost got the better of him outside the motel. For a moment, Sam looked highly uncomfortable, and it sent waves of panic rushing over Gabriel in white hot waves. Had he done something wrong? Had he annoyed Sam in some way?

His immense relief had almost shown on his face when Sam blurted out the request for Gabriel to stay with him for a while longer. This relief had turned swiftly to a giddy happiness that he struggled to keep control of, and only just managed to keep his mouth locked in his usual grin rather than widening to a beaming smile. Only one conscious thought was echoing through his mind; '_Sam wants me to stay near him_'. He didn't care how this simple act left him feeling somewhat light-headed, or that Sam had seemed reluctant to say it; he had still said it.

His happiness didn't last long, however. The moment he followed Sam inside the motel room and was greeted with Dean's usual frosty reception, Sam reverted back to looking anywhere but at him. And then the older Winchester spoke the words he had been dreading to hear. That they were moving out that very night, striking hard and fast at the very centre of the demon congregation. The urge to speak up at this point, to reveal that this plan had never worked; they had always wound up getting themselves captured, badly wounded or ended up being hunted themselves. But voicing this would have raised awkward questions. Questions like how did Gabriel know about their past encounters? He would then be forced to reveal how he had trailed them all around like a lost puppy, observing quietly from the shadows, always ready to step in if the need arose. So he held his tongue, and instead reminded Sam to call him if he was needed before leaving.

Upon returning to his room, Gabriel took a seat by his window and did little but watch for any sort of sign that they were leaving and the general direction they were headed in, or straining his ears to catch the guttural roar of Dean's precious Impala. As the sky outside changed from light blue to pink streaked with gold and the beginnings of darkness on the horizon, Gabriel's stomach clenched a little tighter. It could have just been his imagination, but he was fairly certain he had heard the droning of the car. Unable to sit there any longer, the archangel snapped his fingers.

A moment later, he was inside their motel room. It was completely deserted. He sank onto Sam's bed, his stomach giving another unpleasant lurch. So they were gone. And thanks to the sigils Castiel had carved into their ribs, he couldn't trace them. Propping his elbows on his knees, Gabriel leant over the side of the bed and waited once again, his head supported by his palms.

An hour passed. The motel room grew steadily darker, but Gabriel made no movement to switch on any of the lights. He was feeling sick; dizzy and nauseous with worry. He was an angel. He wasn't _supposed_ to feel these human emotions. But there wasn't a lot concerning Sam Winchester and emotions Gabriel was supposed to be feeling. His hair was sticking up on end from the amount of times he had run his hands through it. He stole a glance at the alarm clock on Sam's bedside table. A further five minutes had passed.

And then he heard it.

"_Gabriel.._"

His heart leapt into his throat as he jumped to his feet, snapping his fingers. As his feet hit the wooden floor of a bar a short distance away, Gabriel froze and surveyed the scene before him with repulsion and alarm. All movement within the building had ceased the moment he had appeared. Dean and Castiel were at the far end of the bar, surrounded by a group of ten demons. Castiel was holding one by the scruff of his jacket, his spare hand poised to exorcise the demon, but was standing there as still as a statue, staring at Gabriel with his eyes wide. And then Gabriel turned to the scene before him. A further ten demons were standing in a circle, with one in the centre. His boot was lodged onto a blood soaked chest. A chest that belonged to Sam Winchester, who was lying on the floor, apparently unconscious.

At once, Gabriel felt an anger pulsing through his body quite unlike any he had ever felt before. He lunged forwards and despite his miniature frame being dwarfed by the demon standing on Sam, seized a handful of his clothes and threw him. The man smashed against the wall and crumpled; he did not get back up. The archangel felt the warmth of his Grace fuelling his body with a fire that seemed to escape his vessel. Eyes burning with cold malice, he took a step closer towards the demons that still surrounded Sam. As one, they moved around the hunter lying on the floor, their now terrified eyes fixed on Gabriel. He moved so that he formed a shield between them and Sam, his mouth curled in a ferocious snarl.

"Close your eyes right now." He growled, catching Dean's eye.

The human obeyed instantly, something Gabriel doubted he would have done in any other situation. Then he turned his attention back to the remaining demons. They were huddled in one large group, their terror evident in their faces. Two human hunters and an angel of the lord had been no problem in their eyes, but now they were dealing with an archangel. And a seriously pissed off archangel at that.

Without pausing for another second, Gabriel raised his hand. The building was immediately filled with a blinding white light. The demons writhed and shrieked in agony, but Gabriel didn't let up any. Only when the last piercing shriek had vanished into reverberating silence, did the archangel lower his hand. Still shaking slightly, he turned on his heel and hurried back to Sam.

"Sam? Sam, can you hear me?" He asked quietly, dropping to his knees at the hunter's head. Taking in all the blood pooling beneath Sam's body was quickly becoming too much for Gabriel to bear; every graze sent a new stab of pain racing through his rapidly beating heart.

When Sam made no attempts to reply or even move, Gabriel felt a cold rush of fear.

"Come on Sammy, open your eyes."

When Sam again did not so much as flutter his eyelids, Gabriel's fear transformed into an icy stab of panic. It felt as if his insides were being doused in freezing cold water. Hands shaking, he lifted Sam as gently as he was able, holding the hunter in his arms, resting him on his lap. If he had just been a little quicker, if he hadn't hesitated..

Feeling a lump nestle uncomfortably in his throat, Gabriel's voice turned thick. He could feel moisture building up in his eyes, but he blinked the tears away quickly. He was not about to fall apart; Sam _needed_ him.

He was unable to keep the desperation from his voice, however.

"Sam, I'm begging you, _please_.. _Please_ open your eyes.." He whispered.

The hunter's eyes flickered open. Gabriel's amber eyes flew open as relief washed over him, cloaking him in warmth. He could still feel his body shaking. Sam hadn't seemed to notice though. He gazed straight up into Gabriel's eyes and considered him for a moment.

"Gabriel..?"

"Yeah, I'm here Kiddo.." He murmured, aware of the approaching footsteps behind him that signalled his brother and Dean's arrival. "Just relax, okay? You're gonna be fine, I promise you."

Sam gave him a tiny smile; Gabriel almost missed it, before his eyes slid closed once again. Gabriel hurriedly pressed his fingers to the hunter's neck and breathed an audible sigh of relief when he felt a slow, rhythmic pulse beating just beneath the skin. He gently placed Sam's head back on the floor, careful not to disturb his injuries. Sam had already lost too much blood.

"Is he okay?"

Gabriel opened his mouth to reply to Dean's frantic question, but his throat had closed up. Unable to speak, he nodded. He heard Dean sigh with relief too, and a slapping sound which the archangel could only assume was him clapping a hand to Castiel's shoulder.

With a snap of his fingers, Gabriel produced a long roll of pearly white bandages. He looked over his shoulder and caught Dean's eye. The hunter hurried forwards and lifted Sam up gingerly. He examined the wound on his back with a disgusted scowl. It had been his fault Sam had been hurt so badly; if he hadn't have gone so far away, Sam wouldn't have been left alone, and..

Gabriel must have read his mind because the next moment he snapped, "Yeah we can get to the famous Winchester Angst later Dean. Right now, Sam needs that to be taken care of."

Castiel knelt beside them and took over the job of supporting Sam while Dean sprinted out to the Impala and back again within a few moments. He was carrying a needle and thread in his hands. He removed Sam's ruined jacket and t-shirt and immediately got to work sewing up the wound. Sam's entire back was soaked with blood, so Gabriel accepted the task of snapping a towel into existence and getting to work cleaning it all away. As soon as Dean had finished sewing the wound up, he and Gabriel wrapped the bandages tightly around Sam's back. Fresh blood soaked into the bandages almost immediately, but it was much less than the amount that had been slipping down Sam's spine as he lay on the floor. Gabriel took one look at Sam's bruised chest, before bandaging that up too. He wouldn't mind betting that the demon's foot had caused several of the hunter's ribs to have at least cracked, so it was a good idea for them to be at least somewhat supported.

Once satisfied, Gabriel sat back and snapped the remaining bandages and ruined towel out of being.

"How are we gonna get him back to your motel? If we move him too much, there's always the risk his wound will re-open."

Dean opened his mouth but Castiel, speaking for the first time all day, cut across him. "For the purpose of speed, I suggest Gabriel take Sam. Flying is quicker, and I am certain Gabriel will ensure Sam sustains no further injury."

Dean looked ready to argue, but caught Gabriel's sharp gaze at the last second. He seemed to remember the immense power the archangel had displayed, because he wisely closed his mouth again but still looked angry at the idea. So, moving very slowly and carefully, Gabriel supported Sam under his knees and the middle of his back, before they both vanished, reappearing almost as once in the motel room. Still moving as though carrying a china doll that was liable to break, Gabriel slowly made his way to Sam's bed and placed him upon it. He checked his pulse as soon as the hunter was settled, and felt a breath he had not been knowingly holding in escape from his lips when he felt the steady heartbeat beneath his touch.

Gabriel stood there for a long time, watching Sam sleep. His eyes swept once more over Sam's body, taking particular notice of the wounds littering the hunter's body. A colourful bruise was forming on his forehead, presumably from where he had hit the floor; another was beginning to blossom on his jaw. The skin on his chin and by his lips was strained a slightly darker hue than the rest of his pale face; Gabriel could only assume this was caused by the blood that had been trickling from his mouth.

"I'm sorry.." He whispered, his voice coming out as a croak. "I'm so, so sorry.."

Gabriel had never apologised in his life. He had caused the man lying before him almost crippling emotional pain, and had never felt even the slightest trace of guilt. But that because that pain was necessary; Sam _needed_ to know what it was like to live without his brother. Dean was doomed to Hell, there was no escaping it. He had forced Sam through that pain to show him how it would be in just a few short months when his illusion would be reality. He had been in control of that. But this.. He had never felt so.. So _lost_. Sam was this badly hurt because Gabriel hadn't got there in time. He cursed his own stupidity; he should have followed them from the start!

Clutching handfuls of his hair, he continued to observe the human before him.

"I'm sorry.." He whispered once more, and then settled himself down on Dean's bed to watch Sam sleep.

* * *

><p>Hours passed, but still Dean and Castiel did not return from the bar. Gabriel, assuming Dean had taken up his usual remedy for curing guilt by drinking his way through an entire bar's supply, was not worried. It wasn't like Dean couldn't look after himself and besides, he had Castiel with him. And if the angel was willing to let anything bad happen to Dean, Gabriel would give up sugar.<p>

He hadn't been able to stay watching Sam for all that time however, for the same reason Dean was still missing. His guilt was eating him up inside. As far as he was concerned, it was entirely his fault that Sam was so badly hurt. He had been a complete and utter moron for not tailing them from the start, ready to burst in and take care of the situation before it had gotten too out of hand. Instead, he had let his own fear of Sam rejecting his company overthrow his common sense, and he had done nothing. And because of that stupid mistake, Sam had nearly died. So, feeling that watching him all the time was a treat he did not deserve, Gabriel resided himself to sitting in a chair he had dragged to the foot of the bed, staring out of the window.

It was after a further hour of sitting here, just as he had returned from a walk around the motel in an attempt to calm his nerves, that he heard it.

A very weak voice spoke from behind him. "Gabriel..?"

Gabriel physically left his seat he jumped so hard, and spun around in his chair. When he clapped eyes on Sam sitting a little straighter in his bed, his eyes open, his own widened as far as it was possible to go. Gabriel had planned what he was to do when Sam awoke if it happened before Dean or Castiel came back. He had intended to laugh and ask Sam if he and Dean really were the morons they made out to be, charging in without properly checking just how many demons were waiting for them on the other side of the door.

But as he saw Sam sitting there, blinking at him, Gabriel's body reacted before he was able to engage his brain. He scrambled onto the bed, crawled quickly to Sam's side and threw his arms around the hunter. He held him so tightly, it was a wonder Sam's eyes didn't pop, but Gabriel didn't loosen his grip. A quiet gasp very nearly escaped him as Sam's arms wound around him after a few moments' pause. He had intended to release Sam soon after hugging him, but with Sam holding him back, he found this to be impossible. His body automatically snuggled closer to Sam, probably too used to dealing with the clones, and found with a rush of elation in the pit of his stomach that it hadn't just been wishful thinking on his part.

He really _did_ slot against Sam's side as if he belonged there.

* * *

><p>At the same time Gabriel had launched himself at Sam, Castiel was sitting next to Dean at one of the tables in yet another small, crowded bar, watching as the hunter downed his sixth shot in a row. His patience was beginning to wear thin yet again. Several of the barmaids kept walking deliberately close to their table, their heavily lidded eyes fixed on the hunter in an almost hungry manner. And as usual, Dean was doing nothing to stop them. But for once, and Castiel was almost grateful for it, he seemed too distressed to act on their flirtatious invites.<p>

"It was not your fault, Dean." Castiel said for what felt like the thousandth time. And for the thousandth time, the only reply he received was a low grunt.

The moment Gabriel had disappeared with Sam, Dean had set to work clearing up any evidence that they had been there at all without speaking a word to Castiel. He knew Dean was thinking deeply about something, and felt fairly confident it was Sam, and so did nothing to attempt to break the stony silence. But he was coming to regret that choice. As soon as they had left the bar, Dean drove them not back to the motel to check up on his little brother, but to Castiel's surprise, to a much smaller bar than the one they had visited the previous evening. It had a much shabbier exterior, and its interior was not much better. It was full of shady looking people who eyed them curiously as Dean slumped into the nearest table and beckoned for a barmaid.

He had not yet spoken a coherent word to Castiel; in fact, he was barely even looking at the angel. This, coupled with the way Dean's eyes were instead lingering on the over-exposed skin on some of the younger barmaids, was beginning to raise Castiel's temper again. He knew that Dean was blaming himself for what had happened to Sam, but it was irking him that rather than visiting his brother and speaking it through, he was hiding himself away in a bar, drinking himself into oblivion. Castiel knew that since Sam's visit to Hell, the brothers had drifted apart a little. But that did not mean they did not still care deeply for one another; Dean's behaviour showed that.

As Dean ordered another row of shots, Castiel felt his fists clenching subconsciously under the table. The final straw came when the barmaid delivered them. She had obviously pulled the neck of her already revealing top down so that Dean could not miss what she was plainly trying to shove into his face. Castiel saw the hunter's eyes immediately swivel in that direction, and snapped.

Every one of the shot glasses exploded, showering the barmaid in the foul smelling alcohol. She shrieked and hurried away, leaving Dean looking perplexed. Then, his gaze finally shifted to Castiel.

"Did you just -?" He began but did not finish for Castiel had seized him by the arm and physically hauled him from the bar.

He ignored Dean's snaps of rage, his blue eyes fixed determinedly on the Impala. Just before they reached the car however, Dean managed to pull his arm free, and glared at Castiel, his green eyes steely with fury.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I am stopping you from poisoning yourself." The angel spat back, taking Dean by surprise slightly. He regained his composure quickly though. Just as he opened his mouth to shout something back, Castiel cut across him. "If that is the lifestyle you choose to live Dean, you will do so without me."

Dean certainly hadn't been expecting Castiel to say that.

"W.. What?"

"Do not forget who I am!" Castiel growled, and he sounded quite menacing. "I am the one who raised you from perdition. I did not do so to stand by and watch you wind up back there!"

With the prospect of losing Castiel on top of everything else that had happened that evening, Dean forced himself to take a series of deep, calming breaths to quieten his temper. When he spoke however, his voice was still slightly pinched.

"How do you expect me to be, Cas?" He asked, staring the angel in the eye for the first time in a long while. "Because of me, Sammy nearly died tonight."

"Then it is a pretty poor apology to not be by his side." Castiel replied coldly.

For a moment, neither spoke. Then Dean rubbed his face with his hands.

"You're right.." He mumbled, his voice muffled by his hands. "Sorry.."

"As am I. You have my apologies Dean." Castiel still sounded irritated, but his tone contained a definite note of guilt. He should not have allowed himself to lose his temper, especially around Dean.

The hunter managed a weak grin. "There's nothing for you to be sorry for." He replied, removing his hands. It was he that cut across Castiel this time as the angel showed signs of wanting to argue back. "Come on, let's go check on Sammy. If your brother's tried anything with him, I swear to God.."

"What would Gabriel attempt?" Castiel asked curiously, cocking his head to the side.

"Never mind, Cas." Dean laughed, getting into the Impala. He certainly wasn't going to explain his fears about Gabriel violating his younger brother while he was away; he wasn't confident the angel would fully understand even if he did. Not to mention the mental images of himself and the angel now seated beside him that would crop up in his mind if he ventured down that path. No, it was safer to just laugh it off.


	9. Gone Too Soon

_You changed my life, I hope you know_

'_Cos now I'm lost, so unprotected_

_Like a shooting star_

_Flyin' across the room_

_So fast, so far, you were gone too soon_

_You're a part of me and I'll never be the same here without you_

_You were gone too soon_

_You were always there and like a shining light_

_On my darkest days, you were there to guide me_

For their own separate reasons, neither Sam nor Gabriel wanted to break the hug.

Sam, having just accepted a rather unexpected revelation about himself, was focused solely on keeping the archangel close by. It felt as if a crushing weight had been lifted from his shoulders all of a sudden; he no longer felt under pressure to run from his own emotions. Accepting them had made everything a whole lot easier. For the first time in a long while, Sam felt utterly at ease and relaxed. He could have happily stayed where he lay with the warm weight of Gabriel against his side forever. He shifted his grip a little so that he was laying more comfortably, his head resting on the top of Gabriel's. Finally accepting that he had been in love with Gabriel since he had died for them had left Sam feeling a little.. Well, vulnerable was the best word for it. He just wanted to keep the archangel encased in his embrace for as long as possible; closeness was a necessity at the moment for Sam.

Gabriel loved any form of physical contact with Sam, unless it involved having a stake pointed at his heart. It was practically unheard of for Sam to lay cuddled close to another being the way he was with Gabriel at the present moment, and the archangel was in no hurry to break it. To be held in Sam's arms, especially when he was shirtless, made Gabriel feel slightly light-headed and slightly nauseous as his stomach flipped for the umpteenth time. He was ecstatically happy that for once, for _once_, he was neither dreaming nor lying beside a clone. This was the real thing, and it was really happening.

And yet, the archangel knew the contact had to end soon. Firstly, it was Gabriel's fault Sam was injured, and it was much more difficult to ignore the pearly white bandages contrasting with his skin when the archangel's head was beside them on the hunter's chest. Gabriel doubted he would ever forgive himself for not following them to the bar, for not being there to protect Sam from the demons. And the longer he stared at the bandages wrapped around Sam, the stronger his guilt became. Secondly, Dean and Castiel still weren't back, and Gabriel highly doubted the older hunter would welcome the scene that would meet his eyes. In fact, Gabriel would be highly shocked if Dean didn't pull the Colt out from wherever he was hiding it, take aim and shoot, careless of whether it actually worked or not. Finally, he didn't want Sam realising what he had worked so hard to keep secret regarding how he truly felt about the hunter. This overly long hug was definitely suspicious. Frankly, Gabriel was shocked Sam hadn't pulled away long before and started relentlessly questioning him about it.

So, very reluctantly, Gabriel pushed himself away from Sam and slid off the bed altogether. His body felt immediately cold; it craved the soft warmth emanating from Sam's body.

"Glad to see you're back, Sammy." He said, his voice slightly tense.

Sam, who's arms were still slightly lifted towards Gabriel, allowed them to fall with soft thumps to the mattress, dread rising in his stomach. Gabriel's hasty exit and tone of voice only helped to confirm what Sam already knew; the archangel didn't return his feelings. Sam already knew that, and yet the realisation was a very painful one. It felt as if the demon was stamping on his chest again. And now he had made Gabriel feel uncomfortable by prolonging their hug. He felt his cheeks ignite, but did his best to keep his voice even, despite the trembles spreading all over his body.

"Yeah, thanks to you."

Gabriel winced at Sam's words, his entire body tensing. Didn't Sam understand? He had nearly _died_ because of the archangel; why wasn't he angry about that? Why wasn't he furious that Gabriel had hesitated? Why wasn't he _blaming_ the archangel?

"Don't thank me, Kiddo.." He mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" Sam asked. He wanted Gabriel to face him, but the archangel remained resolutely facing the window.

"I said not to thank me." He replied, though just as quietly.

"Why not?" Sam asked, completely nonplussed. "If you hadn't been there, I wouldn't be laying here having this conversation."

"You nearly died because of me, Sammy!" Gabriel said, once more fixing his hands into his hair. "I should have followed you! I shouldn't have just let you go off on your own! Castiel's always going to protect Dean, leaving you on your own, and I _knew_ that! Yet I let you go alone! And because of that, you nearly -" He trailed off with a groan, tugging at the strands of hair clutched in his grasp.

"If you hadn't got me to make that deal, I _would_ have died tonight." Sam retorted stubbornly. "It was only because you came to me when I called you that I survived. You saved my life tonight Gabriel."

The archangel still looked distressed; his hands were still locked in his hair anyway. And as Sam watched, he gave his head the tiniest of shakes. Sam sighed in exasperation.

"Look, Gabriel." He began, his tone making it perfectly clear that Gabriel was not to interrupt. "If you'd have followed us from the start, the demons would have sensed you coming and they'd have taken off. We'd have probably lost their trail. So it was for the best that you stayed behind." He paused, waiting for the archangel to say something but he remained silent, so Sam ploughed on. "And besides, when you did get there, you made mincemeat of those demons and you saved my life. Are you telling me you regret that?"

Gabriel spun on his heel, his amber eyes hardening. "Of course not! I -"

"Then what's the big deal? So I got a little hurt. Like that's anything new."

"Sam, you almost died."

"But I didn't, did I?"

"But -"

"I don't blame you. So can you stop blaming yourself?"

Gabriel looked ready to argue. His amber eyes were glinting, and his mouth was curved into a deep frown as he continued to stare at Sam. Then he rolled his eyes, folded his arms across his chest and nodded. Sam sighed softly and relaxed back against his pillows, turning his gaze from Gabriel to the ceiling. He had never before heard Gabriel sound even the slightest bit remorseful of his actions, even when Sam's life had been in jeopardy. So to hear him sound almost sickened with himself as he spoke about Sam's injuries being his fault; it was different. As Sam turned his head back to glance at Gabriel, he received a shock. The archangel was looking at him but started when Sam caught his eye and glanced away hurriedly.

Hoping he was not about to make a grave mistake and ignoring the way his heart had leapt into his throat, he grinned. "What were you staring at me for, Gabriel?"

The archangel scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself, Winchester." He was unable to meet Sam's eyes, however, which destroyed the illusion completely.

Still grinning, Sam sat up a little straighter. "Come on," He said softly, "You can tell me."

Gabriel gulped, trying to block out the effects Sam's change in tone were having on him. His heart had skipped an unpleasant beat, his stomach was performing flips once again and he was still unable to look Sam in the eye.

"Sure you didn't bang your head too hard, Sammy?" He asked with a shrug. "If you're imagining things, I mean.."

"So why can't you look at me now?" Sam asked, still wearing the same grin.

Gabriel shrugged again, but offered no verbal reply. His heart had chosen that moment to leap into his throat, making speech practically impossible. Sam thought with a pang that he was starting to push his luck, but found he could not resist. He was not one to sit and dwell on his feelings. Instead, he was going to act on them. He shuffled closer towards Gabriel, ignoring the twinge of pain the wound in his back gave as he moved. That, at least, made Gabriel turn to watch him, a look of slight alarm on his face.

"You shouldn't be moving just yet, Sammy. You could -"

But Sam cut across him.

"What about that hug, huh? Lasted a little too long if you ask me."

At once, Gabriel's insides turned to an icy slush. His brain numbed as he desperately tried to think of some excuse, any excuse. It didn't matter how feeble it was, just _anything_. But he could think of nothing. His brain had, for once in his life, gone blank. He opened and closed his mouth several times, earning him a raised eyebrow from Sam. Gabriel dropped his gaze. With a weary sigh, he decided on what he had to do. There was nothing else for it and besides, he was sick of acting like a wimpy teenager. He was going to take the plunge and deal with the consequences when he met them.

"I know you're not that stupid, Sammy.."

Sam could only gape. Was Gabriel referring to what Sam _thought_ he was referring to..?

Gabriel risked a glance up, saw Sam's transfixed expression and felt a searing pain in his chest. The hunter was horrified. Sam was smart; he could obviously guess what Gabriel had been trying to say. And his reaction was far from the happy grin Gabriel had been hoping for. It had been the single most moronic decision Gabriel had made in his life. He had just single-handedly ruined everything. Contact with Sam Winchester was about the only thing keeping him going, and now he knew the hunter would never want to see him again. Not for the first time, Gabriel regretted his resurrection. The longer he stood in the tense silence, the tighter his stomach and heart clenched. He needed to get out of that motel, he needed to get away from this. Not looking at Sam, he surged around the bed and to the door.

"Dean and Castiel are probably on their way back by now. So I'll just be going. I doubt Deano would want to see me anyway, even if I did save your skins tonight." He pulled the door open. "So I guess I'll be seeing you, Sammy. Hope you get better s-"

The rest of his quickly gabbled sentence died in his throat as the door was wrenched from his grasp and slammed shut. Gabriel turned around, his eyes wide. Sam was standing behind him, one hand on the door, the other pointing a threatening finger at the archangel's chest.

"You know what your problem is?" He said, and Gabriel was surprised to see a grin ink onto his face. "You talk _way_ too much."

And before Gabriel could ask what the hell he was talking about, the hunter had leant forwards and pressed his lips to the archangel's. Gabriel gave a muffled gasp of surprise, a sound which quickly turned to a moan when Sam took advantage of his open mouth. The kiss ended far too soon in Gabriel's opinion, but he had to account for the fact humans actually _needed_ to breathe.

"You're.. Too.. Short.." Sam gasped, still grinning as he straightened up a little.

Gabriel frowned, before placing both hands on Sam's shoulders and using them as handholds. Before Sam could ask what the archangel was doing, he pressed down on both his hands and hoisted himself up, securing his new height by wrapping his legs around Sam's waist. The hunter gave a yelp of shock and staggered backwards with the added weight, his hands supporting the archangel on his back. Gabriel grinned up at Sam, placing his hands on the back of his neck.

"What?" He asked innocently as Sam continued to stare at him.

Without waiting for an answer, Gabriel pulled Sam down towards him and their lips met once again. Sam walked forwards and pressed Gabriel up against the wall so that his hands could explore every inch of the archangel he could reach.

Too late they heard the key turning in the lock, and as the door swung open, there was little that could be done about their position. Sam detached himself from Gabriel's mouth as two figures stepped into the motel room, his face a perfect imitation of a deer caught in the headlights. Gabriel however, placed both hands behind his head and grinned widely.

"Enjoying the show?" He asked.


	10. Last One Standing

_How many times are you gonna try to shut me out?_

_I told you once, told you twice, I ain't turning back around_

_So if you ever try to mess with me, I don't care, I'm not scared_

_I'm always gonna be the last one standing_

_Because I'm never gonna give up trying_

_And now I'm ready to go, I'm here, I'm waiting for you_

_And I'm gonna be the last one standing_

Dean had seen a great deal of things as a hunter that had disturbed and shocked him. But returning back to the motel to discover his younger brother pressing the archangel Gabriel to the wall, his hands on Gabriel's back while the archangel's legs were locked around his hips, shot to the top of the list in two seconds flat. His jaw dropped open in a silent scream, before an incredibly girly shriek escaped him that he would deny making until the day he died. As his eyes popped, his mouth still hanging open, Sam looked away from his gaze, blushing. Gabriel however, grinned and turned as far as he could to Dean and Castiel while keeping his legs curled around Sam, hands locked behind his head.

"Enjoying the show?"

Dean opened and closed his mouth a few times, speech apparently failing him. Then, raising a trembling arm to point at Gabriel, he finally managed to get a grip on himself.

"STOP VIOLATING MY BROTHER, YOU SONOFABITCH!" He roared.

"'Violating'?" Gabriel echoed, his tone airy and lighter than it had been for a long time. "I think you'll find Deano, that to violate someone, they have to be unwilling. And I hate to point out the obvious, but _I'm_ the one being pressed to the wall.."

Sam turned an even deeper shade of red at Gabriel's words while Dean spluttered, still pointing at the grinning archangel. Beside him, Castiel was observing the scene before him with mild curiosity. Since coming to Earth, he had witnessed many acts of kissing, but he had never imagined seeing one such scene involving his brother and another human, particularly Sam Winchester. To him, kissing was just an opportunity for humans to touch at the lips, to share breath and saliva. In his opinion, that wasn't the sort of pleasurable activity anyone should partake in. Gabriel however, seemed to disagree, and that fact both confused and intrigued him. The longer he stood there watching, the more he began to question whether he had misjudged the action.

While Castiel was lost in his reverie, Dean had once more gathered himself.

"You're the one with your legs wrapped around him! He's injured, Gabriel!"

"It may have escaped your attention, but I'm well aware of that." The archangel replied coldly. "I'm being careful not to touch his back."

But Dean's glare was equally cold. "How do I know you're not just using some of your power into making Sam think he wants this?"

Gabriel's amber eyes turned steely; a dangerous sign. He opened his mouth to argue back, but he was interrupted unexpectantly by Castiel, who was surveying Dean carefully. The other three were shocked to see a rather angry glint in his blue eyes.

"Gabriel has done nothing to Sam with his powers, Dean." He said, his voice indicating that Dean should neither cut across him nor argue with him. "He has merely used his power to make a deal with Sam, and to save his life."

"A deal? What deal?" Dean asked, his tone indicating his shock.

"I believe it is up to Sam to tell you this." Castiel replied, flicking his gaze momentarily to Sam. Dean spun on his heel to stare at his brother; Sam was looking as if he wished the ground could swallow him up.

"Gabriel made a deal with me a couple of days back. He said he'd come to me if I was in trouble if I called him. It was the only way he'd be able to find us." He said quietly, his eyes fixed on the floor.

"And lucky we made the deal, wasn't it?" Gabriel added. Sam looked up at these words and shot him a small smile, which Gabriel returned.

Dean seemed to have no response to this. And after a few moments of tense silence, he shook his head. "I don't believe this.."

"Believe it Deano, 'cos it's happening." Gabriel replied with a shrug. "Anywaaay.. I'm gonna go jump your brother now, so feel free to jump mine."

Dean turned to glare at Gabriel and had just begun the process of opening his mouth to shout at the archangel, but all he heard was the snapping of Gabriel's fingers and he was glaring at thin air. Dean stood frozen in that same position for a while, before yelling a series of foul swear words and calling Gabriel every name under the sun. Castiel regarded this behaviour with a deep frown on his face as Dean turned and threw himself onto his bed.

"Why are you reacting so violently, Dean?" He asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Seriously Cas? 'Cos I think your brother is gonna try and bed mine."

Castiel blinked. "I am not familiar with that expression."

Dean groaned and sat up. "It means I think Gabriel's going to try and fuck Sam."

The angel shrugged his thin shoulders and continued to stare directly into Dean's eyes, his voice calm and possessing none of the supressed anger Dean's was. "I believe Gabriel has hidden strange feelings for Sam for a while."

"What makes you say that?"

Castiel paused for a moment, on the brink of telling Dean what he had witnessed inside Gabriel's motel room. Knowing it would do little to improve Dean's already wavering patience however, he chose not to. If Dean learned where Gabriel was staying, Castiel knew the elder Winchester was more than likely to storm over there and drag Sam back with them.

"I have.. Noticed things. Abnormal differences in Gabriel's manner and actions, particularly around Sam."

Silence fell upon them, but it was not as tense as the previous silences had been. Dean had dropped his gaze from Castiel's and was staring at the wall Gabriel had been pinned to, his expression stony. The angel glanced at this spot too, and it triggered something in his mind.

"Dean?"

"What?"

"What did Gabriel mean before he left?"

Dean twitched, and hurriedly turned his gaze from the wall to the floor. He couldn't look anywhere near Castiel at the moment. How was he supposed to explain that? How was he supposed to describe Gabriel's meaning in a way Castiel would understand? But most importantly, how could he do so without his brain becoming jammed with various of images of Castiel? And even as he sat there, he began to imagine the angel lying gasping beneath him, a soft pink hue lighting up his cheeks, his blue eyes shimmering brightly like sapphires..

Dean shook his head wildly and the image disappeared. Castiel's brow furrowed and he frowned slightly as he continued to watch Dean. The hunter was now gripping the sides of his head in both hands.

"Dean? Is something wrong?"

"No. No Cas, I'm fine." Dean replied, a little too quickly. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself, rubbed his face with his hands and removed them, although he still didn't meet the angel's eyes. "He.. He meant that.. It was stupid, really stupid.. Even for Gabriel.." He trailed off, and only just managed to supress a groan when Castiel took a seat beside him.

"Are you sure nothing is wrong, Dean?" The angel asked, continuing to stare unblinkingly at the hunter beside him.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm _fine_, Cas. Just.. Just forget about what Gabriel said, okay? It's stupid."

Castiel continued to watch Dean even though the hunter had all but turned his back on him. For a reason he was unable to explain, the simple act of Dean being unable to meet his eyes had caused an unpleasant feeling to settle in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to reach out and touch the hunter, to _make_ him turn around to meet his eyes, but his arm remained pinned to his side. Everything about Dean's posture was screaming to be left alone, to be allowed to sit and vent his anger out in his mind. Castiel had seen him do so many times.

And yet, the thought of leaving the hunter's side was impossible to the angel.

Without speech distracting either of them, both were lost in their own thoughts. Dean was screaming silently for Castiel to move away from him. He could feel the warm heat from the angel's body through his clothes, and the need to turn around and do something he'd come to regret was beginning to get overpowering. Too long he had tried to squash his feelings for Castiel down so that nothing remained. Seeing Gabriel and Sam locked together had awakened something within Dean; he wanted to act on his feelings and he wanted to do it soon. The closeness of the angel was doing nothing to help this predicament. He knew he could not act on his own desires. Castiel did not understand the concept of physical contact; he would not welcome Dean suddenly whirling around and pressing their lips together.

Castiel, like Dean, was trying his best to overcome a mental block. He had accepted long ago that what he felt for Dean was different to what he felt for any of his Father's other creations. Dean was special, if not to anyone else, to him. Castiel did not feel the same level of devotion to Sam or to Bobby; it was reserved for Dean and for Dean alone. He had worked out logically that he loved Dean Winchester, more than he should. And by observing closely, he had seen the same traits in his elder brother whenever Sam Winchester was close by. Castiel did not know if Gabriel did it willingly, but his eyes always strayed to the younger hunter when he thought nobody was watching, he had secretly taken shelter in a motel close by to keep an eye on the Winchesters and he showed co-operation to Sam's requests that were most unlike him. And then of course, there was the scene Castiel had accidentally discovered in Gabriel's motel room. If Gabriel was behaving similarly to how Castiel acted when around Dean, then that left Castiel with only one answer; Gabriel loved Sam. And if anything the scene they had walked in on tonight was anything to go by..

"Dean..?" He whispered, trying to ignore the way his heartbeat had sped up as he contemplated what he was about to do.

More out of shock at Castiel's change in tone than anything else, Dean finally turned to look at him. It happened in all of three seconds. The moment Dean had faced Castiel, the angel leant forwards and kissed the hunter, before pulling away as fast as lightning. Dean blinked mutely, his hand rising to his mouth, all the time fixing his wide-eyed gaze on Castiel. It was the angel this time that averted his gaze.

"Cas..? What..?"

"If Gabriel acted on his feelings for Sam in that way, then it is only logical that I do the same." He spoke quickly.

Dean felt his jaw drop for the second time that evening. Then, his mouth split into a wide smile and he reached across, gently grabbing Castiel's chin. The angel started, but allowed Dean to pull his head around to face him once more. The sight of Dean's smile seemed to calm the angel, and Dean felt him relax slightly in his grip.

"I like the way you think, Cas.." He whispered, leaning forward and, far gentler than he had ever kissed before, pressed his lips to Castiel's. The angel felt tense once again beneath the contact at first, before he relaxed.

They pulled away again after a few moments. Castiel was still very new to the whole experience of kissing and touching; Dean didn't want to put too much onto his shoulders at once. At first, he felt a stab of panic. Castiel's expression was contemplative, as if considering whether or not he regretted what had just happened. Then, after a few moments of prolonged, almost painful silence, the corners of the angel's mouth twitched upwards into a smile.

"That is much more enjoyable than I imagined." He said.

Another thing Dean would deny until the day he died was the giddy rush of happiness this simple statement brought.

* * *

><p>The first thing Sam did when his feet hit a solid surface was to drop Gabriel; the archangel landed on bent knees and settled himself down onto the bed as Sam glanced around.<p>

"Where are we?"

"My motel room. I've been staying here for about a week now." He replied.

"A week?" Sam repeated, turning away from the window and fixing Gabriel with a curious stare. "That's about the same time we've been staying at our motel."

Gabriel felt a faint blush spring up in his cheeks, and looked away from Sam. "Yeah. Strange coincidence, that."

But by now, Sam knew the archangel far too well to be fooled by his blasé tone. Grinning slightly, he approached Gabriel, his smile growing wider when he saw that the archangel only looked resolutely down at his feet to avoid eye contact.

"Gabriel, have you been following me?"

The archangel groaned, before turning his vision towards the ceiling. "He had to be brainy, didn't he? Why Dad? Why did he have to be smart?"

Sam laughed, and Gabriel forced a smile. He finally looked back to Sam; or more precisely, his bare chest. He only noticed he was staring when Sam cleared his throat, still grinning. Gabriel's eyes flicked to meet Sam's instead, and he bit his lip somewhat nervously. Sam spotted this, and the grin faded from his face immediately.

"What? What's wrong Gabriel?"

The archangel sighed. "I've got to tell you something, Sam." His voice suddenly serious.

Sam froze, his insides turning to ice. Was Gabriel about to tell him this had all been some elaborate joke? That this was just another one of his Trickster plots that really wasn't funny at all?

"You need to know that I love you, Sammy." Gabriel's voice was still serious, but it had gone deathly quiet.

Sam remained transfixed, staring silently down at Gabriel. His heart had leapt into his throat and was thumping painfully fast and he could feel his stomach lurching uncomfortably. His head swimming with sudden light-headedness, he felt his mouth open slightly in shock. He just hadn't been expecting Gabriel to say that.. Gabriel who was pure, who was perfect, telling someone dark and defiled like he –

"Don't you _dare_ finish that thought." Gabriel snarled menacingly.

"But.." Sam started, but Gabriel shot to his feet and was in front of Sam's face in an instant, cutting him off. Despite his short build, his anger seemed to make him grow.

"You think you're dark or defiled? You have more love in you than most humans I've ever met! You're always willing to sacrifice anything you have to save the people you love, and I think I'd know all about that wouldn't I? Remember the Mystery Spot? You give everything your all, and you never stop to think about yourself when there's someone else in danger! Yes, you've made mistakes but who hasn't? It just makes you human! And to have gone through everything you've gone through and still be yourself, still be _you_; that's amazing! And guess what Sammy? You've made an archangel fall in love with you, and believe me, that doesn't happen often!"

Sam's brain stalled, at an utter loss for words. Then, he smiled, and took a deep breath.

"Well.. I think I might love you too, Gabriel."

It was Gabriel this time whose mouth fell open. "Seriously..?" He asked, his voice slightly weak, all of his anger evaporating on the spot.

Sam nodded, before bending down and pressing his lips to Gabriel's. He felt the archangel smile against his mouth before he was kissing Sam back, his hands locking onto the hunter's sharp hip bones. As they broke apart, Gabriel grinned and glanced down at Sam's still bandaged body.

"What..?" Sam asked, somewhat uncertainly.

"Nothing. I just can't wait for these to come off.." He met Sam's eyes again and winked, producing a bar of chocolate in his hand. "Boy Sammy, are we gonna have some _fun_.."


	11. Can't Keep My Hands Off You

**Just want to take the time here to thank everybody who left me such lovely reviews; they really put a smile on my face! Also, a massive thank you to anyone who faved this fanfic, or added me to any alert subscriptions because of it! Great, big, bone breaking hugs to you all! :D**

**But I especially want to thank _Call Me Johnny_ for reviewing every chapter and for sticking through with this until the end, and my little sister, _chibivampirechan666_, for giving me the confidence to post this up in the first place :D**

**This whole fanfic is dedicated to one of my besties in real life, Gemma [[Or Casa to me xP]] (_Daianta_), for getting me hooked on this show in the first place! Thanks Casa, you've turned me into a worse fangirl than I was before! xD**

**Anyways, on with the last chapter! x**

* * *

><p>'<em>Cos on the street or under the covers<em>

_We're stuck like two pieces of Velcro_

_At the park, in the back of my car_

_It don't matter what I do, no_

_I can't keep my hands off you_

**ONE WEEK LATER**

The wounds Sam had received in the barroom brawl with the demons healed surprisingly quickly. The younger hunter was willing to bet anything he owned that this miraculously speedy recovery was due to the impatience of his new boyfriend, Gabriel. Ever since making the suggestive comment on the evening he sustained said injuries, he had personally insisted on checking Sam's bandages at least twice a day. Sam knew for a fact the archangel was taking these seemingly innocent opportunities to heal the wounds with his own power, because in less than a week, there was no longer any evidence the wounds had been there at all. What gave the game away most of all though, was Gabriel's practically transparent expression of innocent surprise.

"Well look at that, Sammy!" He had cried in his best shocked voice. "You're mended!"

"Don't talk about me like I'm some busted object.." Sam had grumbled in reply, but there was no genuine anger in his tone, just as there was no genuine innocence in Gabriel's.

This was quickly followed by a soft popping sound behind him and Sam rolled his eyes. True to form, a moment later, Gabriel had draped himself against Sam's newly healed back, leaning over one of his shoulders, a lollipop stick poking out of his mouth. He had grinned widely as he glanced up at Sam from the corner of his golden eyes, his arms curling around the hunter's neck.

"What? I'm just relieved is all."

"Yeah, yeah." Sam had replied, inching forwards so that Gabriel fell and slumped onto the mattress with a soft thump.

He had then risked a glimpse over his shoulder at the archangel and felt a grin sliding subconsciously onto his face. Gabriel was lying where he had fallen; chin resting on the mattress with his back arched, still in the kneeling position he had adopted whilst leaning against Sam. He removed the lollipop with one hand, and shot Sam the best pout he could muster, his amber eyes shining in the pale lamplight of their motel room. Sam rolled his eyes once again, an action he tended to repeat a lot around Gabriel, and turned away.

Sam had then been reaching to retrieve his t-shirt which Gabriel had unceremoniously discarded before checking his injuries. Just as his hand had closed around the fabric, he felt it being tugged out of his grip. Turning around, he had found himself face to face with a grinning archangel, who had then proceeded to push Sam down and attack his neck with kisses and soft bites.

"You're all better now Sammy.. Time for that fun I've been waiting for.." Gabriel had murmured against his skin.

That had been yesterday. Now, Sam lay entombed in warmth; a result that came from a mixture of both blankets and the unnatural body heat emanating from Gabriel. The archangel was sprawled against Sam's bare chest, one arm curled around the hunter's waist. One of his legs lay on top of Sam's, while his head was resting comfortably on the human's shoulder. Both were clad in nothing but boxers, and that was only because Sam had insisted they be wearing something in case Dean decided to burst in on them unannounced. Gabriel had muttered that he thought the experience would teach Dean simple courtesies like knocking, but nevertheless he snapped the clothes into being before drifting off to sleep against Sam.

It was the hunter who stirred and awoke first. He blinked sleepily, wondering what the heavy weight against his own body was, before he remembered flashes of the previous night. Gabriel, proceeding lower down his body with the same mixture of kisses and bites, sending shivers coursing up and down Sam's spine and making his skin tingle. Gabriel, destroying whatever visions Sam had created in his mind whenever he imagined the archangel with his ever-present lollipops; the reality of his talented mouth having been far better than anything the hunter could have anticipated. Gabriel, spread out beneath him with his usual wicked grin on his face after Sam had flipped them, needing to prove that no matter what power the archangel possessed, _he_ was the dominant one in this relationship.

One of Sam's hands rose to rest on the curve of Gabriel's back, his warmth almost burning to the touch. Sleeping next to the archangel was like curling up with a furnace. As Sam watched the archangel continue to rest peacefully, he began to absent-mindedly stroke the soft skin beneath his hand, his mind wandering back to the musings that had been haunting him ever since the night he and Gabriel had officially become an item.

Gabriel was pure. He was vulgar and had an almost concerning obsession for the sleazier things life offered, yes. But, when push came to shove, it was a fact that he was an archangel of the Lord and as such, a wonderfully untainted being. His kind portrayed hope to many devout Christians around the world, acting as messengers from God. Despite his individual choice for a suicide note and his constant uncouth remarks, he was undefiled. He was perfection, honed into being by God Himself.

And then there was Sam.

Sam, who had slayed more creatures than he could remember, many without even the slightest hesitation of mercy. Sam, who had been addicted to demon's blood not that long ago; a sickening habit that should repulse any who knew of it, and rightly so. He'd even set Lucifer free. Lucifer, the one who would go on to murder the being sleeping soundly against Sam right at that very moment. That knowledge tugged at Sam's heartstrings and his hand slowed to a halt on Gabriel's back. The archangel groaned softly and shifted slightly, but did not wake.

It had been entirely Sam's fault that Gabriel had died. He had not been the one to shout the insults at Gabriel from across the warehouse after their stint in TV Land, but he had made no attempts to stop Dean. And in the end, it was Dean's words that made Gabriel face his brother. But ultimately, if Sam had not released the devil, there would have been no brother to face. Gabriel could have gone on hiding, and would never have had to suffer the agony of death.

Sam stole a glance at the top of the archangel's head. He didn't deserve to be lying here, relaxing with Gabriel. Hell, Sam didn't deserve any kind of company for the rest of his life. His decisions, and poor ones at that, had led to the deaths of handfuls of people. He had stopped the Apocalypse yes, but how many of those closest to him had suffered for it? Gabriel, Dean, Adam, Bobby, Castiel.. The list went on. So why, in the name of all that was even slightly holy, was someone as pure and unblemished as Gabriel even able to sit in the same room as him, let alone declare his love for him?

"Sam, you carry on like that and I swear to Dad, the scene I make won't be pretty.."

Sam jumped out of his skin and stared down at the archangel. Gabriel was still lying where he had been before; his head still lay against Sam's shoulder and his body was still curled gently against the hunter's. Sam could have sworn he was asleep, but evidently, he was not.

"Your thinking woke me up." Gabriel explained, his voice still rather acidic. "I don't like what I'm hearing, Sam."

The hunter sighed, subconsciously tightening his grip around the archangel as he spoke, afraid his next few words would make Gabriel seriously reconsider his decision and discover that in fact, he didn't truly want to be where he was.

"What are you doing with me, Gabriel..?" Sam's voice was quiet, but his words seemed to echo around the eerily silent motel room.

"Because I love you. Plain and simple." Gabriel replied without pausing for breath.

"But.. Why? Gabriel, I'm.. Well.. I'm _me_."

"And that's exactly why I love you. For Dad's sake, Sam!" Gabriel snapped, now sitting up and staring Sam in the eye. "You think I want someone who's totally rule abiding and honest? Hell no! Look at me! I'm not exactly what you call a traditional harp-twanging cloud dweller, am I? So why would I want someone who isn't like me? Someone who doesn't see the world the way I do?"

"But I'm not like you. You're pu-YEOWCH!" The last part of Sam's words was not intended, but it was what ended up issuing from his mouth when Gabriel rolled his eyes and sank his teeth into the hunter's exposed chest.

"If you speak again, I'll bite harder and lower." Gabriel growled, his amber eyes glinting. "And believe me, neither of us wants that." Sam felt the corners of his mouth twitch at these words, and Gabriel's eyes softened a fraction before he continued. "Look Sam.. Your past? That's exactly what it is; the past. It's behind us. Can't do a damn thing to change it, can we? And if we could, who knows? Maybe this right here," He indicated to the two of them, "And my dear little brother and Deano? Might never have happened. The things you've been through, the experiences you've had.. They've all moulded together to create the Sam Winchester I love. The past is behind us. What matters right now is what's _happening_ right now. You and me." He reached up and held Sam's chin, withholding the eye contact. "I'm not going to leave you Sam. Not unless you want me to."

"Why would I want that?" Sam asked, brushing Gabriel's hand away as he leant up, pulling the archangel in for a kiss. When they broke apart, Gabriel was grinning in his usual cocky fashion.

"I wouldn't know, Kiddo. I am pretty awesome."

Sam smiled as Gabriel settled back down into his relaxed position in the hunter's arms. The archangel had smoothed over his worries, but they were not removed completely. As far as he was concerned, he would eventually come to hurt Gabriel. The evidence was in plentiful supply; anyone who got remotely close to him ended up hurt. Jessica was murdered. Dean was dragged to Hell in his attempts to save his younger brother. He had tried to kill Bobby during his brief period without a soul. Gabriel had already experienced pain at Sam's hands, and yet he was still there, lying contentedly on the hunter.

"There's a reason for that Sam, and if I have to tell you again, you're going to regret it."

Sam's smile grew, and his hold on Gabriel tightened as he closed his eyes, ready to go back to sleep. He was positive that eventually, Gabriel would come to the same realisations as he had. He just had to hope that that time did not come any time soon.

"For the brainy one you can be one hell of a dumbass.." Gabriel grumbled angrily against Sam's chest. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

And before Sam could so much as move, Gabriel had sat up, his face set in a determined expression. With a snap of his fingers, a bar of chocolate had appeared in his outstretched palm. The half an hour that followed filled the air with Sam and Gabriel's moans and cries, which the wafer thin walls were unable to keep contained. In the room next door, Dean was lying with his head jammed under his pillow, his jaw clenched and his teeth gritted. Castiel lay beside him on his back, head turned to face Dean, seemingly deaf to the profanities his elder brother was yelling next door.

"Cas, I am going to _kill_ your brother.." Dean growled through his teeth, his voice oddly muffled as a result. Whether Castiel replied, Dean didn't know. The pillow was doing a good job of muffling the worst of the sounds, but occasionally, one rather loud scream filtered through. This made him clench his jaw ever tighter, or shove the pillow harder onto his ear.

Eventually, _thankfully_, all returned to silence next door, and Dean declared it safe to remove his makeshift earmuff. He collapsed back onto the same pillow, a look of fiery anger twisting his face. Castiel continued to watch him in curious silence. He understood Dean's discomfort, of course, but was unsure of why the hunter was threatening his brother. Sam had sounded perfectly willing to him, and as such did not require any protection from Dean.

Moving slowly, as if afraid the slightest movement would trigger a violent tirade from the hunter beside him, Castiel reached across and placed his hand upon Dean's shoulder. Although the hunter was wearing a t-shirt, Castiel knew what was burned into the skin beneath his palm. At his touch, Dean turned to look back at the angel, _his_ angel, and felt an involuntary smile seep onto his face when he caught his blue-eyed gaze.

Progress with their relationship had been slow. Castiel, being completely unfamiliar with any form of physical contact and Dean, always ready to rush right into sex and give the finger to the consequences, found themselves in a rather awkward situation at first. Dean had to make sure not to get himself too carried away whilst kissing Castiel, and the angel in return did his level best not to panic whenever Dean decided to try something new.

And now, less than a week after the night Castiel had found the courage to display his affections, although they were not actually having sex yet, Dean felt certain Castiel was getting close to feeling ready. Gabriel, during his week of checking Sam's injuries, had decided to take it upon himself to teach his little brother the joys that came from a sexual relationship. As soon as Dean had discovered this however, he had threatened Gabriel with both a wooden stake _and_ the Colt, chasing the archangel around the motel room with both weapons in his hands. He just knew that any advice that came from Gabriel couldn't be good advice, especially as the archangel was beginning to revert back to his Trickster persona in his boredom.

Dean moved his arm underneath Castiel, pulling the angel gently towards him. Castiel came easily enough, and snuggled closely against Dean's clothed torso, resting his head in the crook of the hunter's neck. Dean's arm curled possessively around Castiel's back, coming to a rest on one of his bony hips. He wanted nothing more than to rip the clothing from the angel lying beside him and make Castiel scream loud enough to rival Sam and Gabriel, but he knew he couldn't.

Not yet, anyway.

Dean had never been good at relationships. They usually fell apart as a result of him telling the other about his real life; about what he and Sam really did for a living. But Castiel already knew all of that, being a supernatural being himself. Dean found that amazing. Castiel knew all about his life; every mistake he'd ever made, anything he'd ever done, it had all been watched by the angel beside him. And yet, Castiel was able to look past everything and see the silver lining underneath. He wanted to remain by Dean's side, despite everything. And Castiel was his lifeline, in more ways than one. The angel relaxing beside him had been the one reason he was still breathing today, having been the one to drag him from Hell. Dean had no words to thank Castiel for all the things he had done, and for just being able to _forgive_. In all honesty, it overwhelmed him.

But he had no ways of saying that. He didn't do 'chick flick moments'. He just hoped, like with everything else, Castiel was able to sense the way he was feeling despite his lack of words.

He rested his chin on the top of Castiel's head, inhaling the smell of the angel's dark hair. For now, he would relax. He would allow himself to drift off into dreams devoid of anxiety or worry; that was just the effect Castiel had on him. He would curl himself as tightly as he could around his angel, sleeping soundly as he held him close, content for the first time in his life.

Sure, the new-found tranquillity would be destroyed when he clocked sight of Gabriel later in the day, but the ensuing roaring argument could wait till later. For now, Dean Winchester was happy.

* * *

><p><strong>Not really happy with the ending, but nothing was coming to me, so hey o_o<strong>

**Once again, thank you to anyone who read this through to the end or faved and reviewed! I love you all! ^_^ **

**Maybe I'll write another Supernatural fanfic, who knows? xP **

**- Lozi x**


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